The Perfect Dream
by elle6778
Summary: When the dream to reunite Team 7 ends, it is surprisingly easy to bury the pain and carry on. But how long can one pretend? SasuSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

Title: The Perfect Dream

Author: elle6778

Theme: 50-shinobi Theme 18: Dreams

Rating: T/PG-13

Characters: Sakura and Sasuke

Summary: When the dream to reunite Team 7 ends, it is surprisingly easy to bury the pain and carry on. But how long can one pretend?

A/N: I want to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I know, I know. I disappear for months and I come back with a SasuSaku fic instead of ItaSaku. This is only a short story. The idea is not very original at all, but it's just something I need to get off my head so that I can focus on my next long fic. Still, I hope you'll like it.

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><p><strong>The Perfect Dream by elle6778 – Part 1<strong>

It was hard to describe her feelings when she saw a sullen and bloodied Sasuke walking into Konoha with an equally bloody but grinning Naruto one sunny morning. She supposed disbelief was her first reaction, followed swiftly by the relief that Naruto was alive and fury that Sasuke had the nerve to walk into Konoha like he always belonged here. But finally, what she felt was a weary acceptance, like she should have known that this day was inevitable.

She had often imagined this moment many times in the past, before 'that day'. No, she hadn't imagined that she would run to them with tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks. No, she hadn't imagined that she would punch them both senseless the second they stepped into the gates.

She had imagined that she would walk proudly through the gates on the other side of Sasuke. It was a dream of hers; for Team 7 to be reunited by both her and Naruto working side by side to bring Sasuke back to Konoha.

But after 'that day', she no longer imagined that either.

Soon after 'that day', she'd imagine that the next time she saw the Uchiha, she would run her tanto through him and twist the blade. There would be no more hesitating. There would be no more thoughts of perhaps he could be salvaged, that he could be brought back and made to repent his wrongdoings. The time for forgiveness was over because there was just so much wrong one could accept and forgive.

How could she forgive someone who had unhesitatingly charged her with a shrieking Chidori in his hand and an unflinching killing intent in his eyes?

She wanted to say that in that one moment, the dream of Team 7 was shattered, but that would be a lie. Team 7 had shattered long ago. That dream had turned into a nightmare a long time ago. Her final contribution to its destruction happened on 'that day', when her own stupidity made her confess her feelings to Naruto. Truth was, she hadn't lied to him.

She loved him.

It was not a matter she had intended to bring up then, simply because her emotion was in its fledgling stage. It had frightened her to realize that she might feel a little more for her blond teammate when he had dominated her thoughts during Pein's attack despite everything that had been happening.

'_Naruto, are you okay?'_

'_Please don't come back, Naruto! They want to capture you.'_

'_Please stay away, please stay safe!'_

'_Naruto!'_

'_Naruto! We need you here now…'_

'_Please… Please, come back.'_

'_Naruto, we need you… I need you…'_

And it had turned all so confusing after that. Hinata's confession had only made it worse because that was when she realized that she was jealous. The realization had terrified her and she had buried the feelings hard. Naruto was her friend and she feared the consequences of even thinking of changing things between them. Besides, he had stopped asking her out years before then.

And now, two years later and wiser, she understood that back then, she had simply been reacting to the stress of the situation. Naruto always brought out strong feelings in her and it was no different then. Her confession was a foolish move resulting in nothing but embarrassment for both her and Naruto to this day. Things were never quite the same between them again. There was an uncomfortable awkwardness in their interactions ever since that day when he had saved her from Sasuke's Chidori. In fact, they barely spoke to each other now.

A crowd was beginning to gather around the two shinobi. The spectators' reactions ranged from curiosity to outright hostility. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke paid any attention to them, however. They simply continued to move unhurriedly in the direction of the Hokage's office, both in their own world.

The notion of running Sasuke through with her tanto had been just a thought brought on by her anger. Back then, it would never have occurred to her that one day, the anger would actually recede and leave behind something dull and empty. Now, it just seemed pointless to even react in any way to his return to Konoha.

Sakura turned and walked away.

She had her own world to take care of now; one which did not involve either Naruto or Sasuke. The distance between herself and Naruto broke her heart but she had numbed it long ago. The distance between herself and Sasuke, however, was something she welcomed. She was through wasting her time on him.

000

000

It seemed like weeks had passed without a single mention of Sasuke, although Sakura had fully expected to find news like that spreading like wildfire in the hospital. She supposed that maybe no one wanted to bring the topic up in front of her. It did not matter anyway. She really did not care one way or another.

The next thing she knew, Sasuke was admitted to the hospital one morning after his session with the Interrogation Unit. Fully expecting this to happen at some point, she studied the initial assessment by the medic nin at Diagnostics, and then allocated an appropriate medic nin to handle the case. In his case, since the notes stated that he was still conscious and no vital organs were compromised, a medic nin of average competence would suffice.

What she did not expect was to have her decision questioned.

"S-Sakura-san?"

She turned around and the medic she had assigned to Sasuke just half an hour ago appeared in her line of sight. The agitated expression on the sixteen-year-old chuunin made her raise a questioning brow. "Yes?"

"Ano… The patient… Uchiha Sasuke…" Kagura blinked twice, turned red and then shuffled her feet. "He refused to let me near him."

Sakura's brows drew together in annoyance. Less than an hour in the hospital and he was already demanding this and that. "Did he say why?"

"He said…" The chuunin hesitated, clearly finding it difficult to continue. Swallowing hard, she finally finished with, "He said that I look like a junior medic. He wants someone more qualified. A senior medic, specifically."

Her lips thinned as her temper spiked. Who did he think he was? This was an active hospital busy treating the sick and injured, not some private care facility. She had allocated a perfectly suitable medic nin to his case already, and now there he was, trying to make unnecessary fuss. He was clearly used to having his own way, not that she intended to allow him the privilege this day. When he was out of the hospital she was running, then he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

Calm down!

She dragged in a deep breath and closed her eyes, immediately halting the furious rant in her head. No, she would not be mad. She should treat him the way she would treat any difficult patient with the minimum of fuss. If she fought him on something so petty, it would only make things more difficult for everyone.

"Sakura-san?" Kagura called out, uncertainty coloring her tone.

Sakura's eyes snapped open. With a nod, she told the medic, "I'll take it from here."

The obviously relieved chuunin handed her Sasuke's file before she fled, as if fearing that Sakura would change her mind.

With an exasperated huff, she quickly read through the file and planned the required treatment in her head. Then, clamping the file under her arm, she made her way to the correct ward. Just as she was about to enter the section, a redheaded kunoichi stormed out angrily. When Karin saw her, the girl halted immediately.

Eyes flashing angrily behind her glasses, Karin hissed, "I don't want him in here where I work! He tried to kill me!"

Sakura knew exactly how she felt. "Just go for a break and when you come back, go help out in the maternity ward."

Slightly mollified, Karin sniffed haughtily. "Fine."

With that, Sakura left her and entered the ward, moving towards the rooms. Two ANBU guards flanked Sasuke's door but they did not stop her from pushing her way through it without knocking. Once inside, she noted two more guards standing by the window. Even though they were both masked, she could tell that Sai was one of them. Inclining her head at him in greeting, she strode briskly until she reached the foot of Sasuke's bed.

"I understand that you requested a senior medic."

Sasuke's dark eyes were inscrutable as he looked at her silently. He was propped up on the bed with two pillows behind him. Although his wounds had been cleaned, they were still open and bleeding. She ran her expert eyes over him, quickly confirming that the extent of his injuries had been accurately assessed. Kagura would have healed at least half of those wounds by now.

Suppressing her impatience, she gave him a bland look. She had all but mastered this look over the past two years. It was a matter of necessity, after 'that day'. After 'that day', she had constructed a protective shell around herself. Otherwise, all those looks of pity and disapproval would have gotten to her. All those looks would have crushed her into nothingness. She had to be stronger than that, she had move pass it and carry on without allowing it to affect her any longer.

"So, will you allow me to heal you?" she asked politely.

His eyes narrowed just a fraction. "I asked for a senior medic," he told her shortly.

She was struck by this strong urge to smack him, but she told herself to ignore it. Instead, she explained, "I'm the most senior medic in this hospital right now. However, if you wish, I can pass on your request to the Hokage and Shizune. You will have to wait until they are free, though. I believe Shizune will be available this evening."

He blinked once, as if surprised. But the only thing he said afterwards was, "Fine. You do it."

She nodded curtly and then took two steps to his side. There, with brisk professionalism, she began to heal him. As she did so, she mentally reanalyzed his injuries, deciding that the interrogator had definitely pulled his punches. There were no injuries to major organs and nothing was potentially fatal. Since Sasuke was not exactly very popular here, she could not help but suspect that Naruto might have gotten to the interrogator and worked his magic before the session.

In ten minutes, his injuries were healed and she took her hands off him. It did not escape her notice that he was studying her silently. She gained the impression that he was trying to find something. Well, whatever it was, she would not let it bother her.

It took another two minutes for her to record everything on his file and when she was done, she told him, "You need to remain here for the next three hours for observation, and then you can leave."

He made no comment to her proclamation, but that did not surprise her. He'd never had much to say to her even when they were in the same team. With an inward shrug, she left the room.

000

000

The weeks blurred into months and the encounter with Sasuke was quickly forgotten in her preoccupation with training a new batch of medic nins and heading the investigation and treatment of the critically poisoned ten-man ANBU squad.

She was a little surprised when she was interrupted just as she was on her way out of the hospital by a recently-qualified medic.

"Sakura-sempai!"

"Yes, Keiko?"

The medic looked nervous. "Kagura-san asked me to ask you if you could stay for a while longer."

"Why?"

Keiko's blue eyes were large in her narrow face. "Because _that_ Uchiha is in the hospital. And he refused to be seen by anyone but a senior medic. Kagura-san tried to find Shizune-sempai, but there's this emergency operation and she will be in there for hours so…" she trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip.

Sakura closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. "Where is he?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"In Diagnostics."

She should just see to him and get this over with, or the hospital would be in chaos because of one spoilt brat. "I'll handle it."

The relief in Keiko's smile was unmistakable. "Thank you, Sakura-sempai!"

With that, she turned around and walked to Diagnostics. When asked, another medic pointed her out to the Uchiha's cubicle. She stepped up to the cubicle and slid around the blue hanging screen to find her patient.

She stopped abruptly.

She could hardly credit her eyes when she saw the metal glinting on his forehead. A burst of fury broke through her calm then. How could Tsunade allow him back into the ranks of Konoha ninja? He did not deserve it after everything he had done and furthermore, he could not be trusted. What of his crimes? Were the crimes to be swept under the rug and ignored? Sakura could not believe this was happening.

However, she managed to eventually stifle the urge to scowl darkly. Instead, she kept her thoughts to herself as she walked up to him. She only had to do her job here and nothing more. Governing Konoha and its shinobi were not part of her job description. If Tsunade thought that he was ready to rejoin Konoha, then she must have a good reason for it.

Still, when she reached his side, she found herself blurting you, "When were you reinstated?"

A brief flicker of annoyance and perhaps confusion appeared in his eyes. He stared at her for so long in that irritatingly haughty manner that she had to resist the urge to slap him silly, because that would be highly unprofessional. If he did not want to answer, then fine. It was not a big deal.

"A month ago."

She nodded once, thinking of the time when he and Naruto had walked through the gates. It had been summer then, and now it was summer again. Had one whole year passed already? That was fast. Perhaps Tsunade was convinced that he had proven himself harmless after a year of relative quiet? Well, Tsunade might be convinced, but Sakura would not ever trust him again.

She gave herself a mental shake, reminding herself that she had a job to do here.

Picking up his file, she read through the current entry before scanning the old ones. It seemed that he had been in and out of hospital over the past few months, but he was usually admitted in the evening. It explained why she had not seen him. The nature of his previous injuries told her that he had been training with Naruto. This time, it looked like he had taken a Rasengan to his leg.

Silence enveloped them as she began to run her glowing hands over his leg, keeping her hands just half an inch above his skin. She concentrated fully on repairing his muscles and nerves at a cellular level, keeping her focus fixed on her task and nothing else.

"You haven't been out."

Her chakra faltered briefly before she regained control. Without looking at him, she asked, "Out where?"

"With Naruto and the rest."

"No. I haven't," she replied disinterestedly. This was old news, after all. She had quitted socializing with them years ago. Three years to be exact.

She was glad when he said nothing more. For him to ask this question, it meant that he had been going out with the rest. Was she the only one who didn't feel as if he could be trusted? Never mind. She had vowed not to involve herself in such things anymore. It usually end up with her getting hurt.

When she finished healing him, she told him, "You will be moved to a ward to recover shortly. You will remain there for the next three hours for observation, and then you can leave."

Like before, he said nothing in response to her words, but his eyes seemed to be searching for something in hers. How odd. Still, she had seen enough of him in the past to know that it was pointless to ask. Her job here was done and her patient was healed so she could leave. Being around him made her feel edgy, even though she managed to remain calm outwardly.

Hopefully, that would be the last time she saw Sasuke's face for a while.

000

000

By intent or by fluke, Sakura had gotten her wish, for she did not encounter Sasuke for months after that healing session. She went on with her daily life. She worked, ate, cleaned up her small home, bathed, read a little and then slept like the proverbial log until the day began anew once more. It seemed like a never-ending cycle, only broken by the occasional hair-raising emergency surgeries and summons to her Shishou's office.

Then one day, her cycle was disrupted.

She worked, she ate, cleaned up, bathed, read a little and then the doorbell rang just as she decided that she was relaxed enough to fall asleep. Frowning, she sat upright in her bed and wondered if there was an emergency at the hospital. Hoping that it was not anything that required her to get out of her house at this time of the night, she walked out to the front door, uncaring that she was dressed in a tank top and shorts.

Her frown deepened when she yanked the door open to find Sasuke standing there.

For a long while, both of them stood there as motionless as statues, staring at each other. Absently, Sakura noticed that he was dressed in the typical Uchiha attire and his forehead was still covered with the Konoha headband. The latter made her itch to yank it off his head.

"Go out for dinner with me."

For a moment, Sakura thought that she had heard wrongly. But when it sank in that those words had actually left Sasuke's mouth, her brows drew together in annoyance. He was definitely playing at something here, and whatever it was, she did not like it. Those were not the words Sasuke would say to her, even though when she was in her early teens, she'd love nothing more than say 'yes' to the question. Now, though, all she felt was a strong suspicion that he was up to no good.

"What do you really want, Sasuke?" she asked instead.

His features betrayed nothing. "I told you. Go out for dinner with me."

It was clear that he had no intention of answering her direct question. So to push further for answers would only be a waste of time. If he wanted to play it this way, she would rise to the challenge.

"No, Sasuke."

There was a flicker of something in his eyes, but it was gone before she could read it. His tone, however, told her that he was not happy. "Why?"

"Does it matter? I just don't want to go out with you, for dinner or for any other reason."

He stared at her for a long while. She stared right back, annoyed that her routine had been interrupted for some stupid reason like this. Did he really think that she would say yes? What the hell was he playing at?

Eventually, he intoned flatly, "Fine."

Without another word, he walked away.

Annoyed that she was now more riled than relaxed, she closed the door and padded back to her room. By the time she sank into her bed, there was this odd sensation in her that felt suspiciously like frustration. Worse, she felt like screaming and her eyes were burning slightly. She did not remember the last time she cried. Definitely before 'that day' and maybe sometime during 'that day', or shortly afterwards.

People say crying was cathartic. Funny, she had not felt the therapeutic effects back then despite all the tears that had rained down her face. It was supposed to be cleansing and so on. So judging by the amount of tears she had spilled then, she should have felt better, right? No, all her crying then had changed nothing.

So why cry?

That night, when she finally fell asleep, her eyes were dry.

000

000

Sakura did not Sasuke for months after the night he had showed up at her door with his unbelievable question. Unfortunately, she still heard plenty about him each time she ventured out to stock up on her supplies.

The gossips were rife with speculations of the remaining Uchiha's affairs. Some gossips mentioned that the Uchiha bloodline was the reason why he was allowed to stay and even allowed back into the shinobi ranks, even though he would most certainly remain a genin for a long time. No genin team wanted him to join them for the Chuunin exams, apparently. Then came the speculations about his intention to find a suitable girl to marry. Her brows had risen when she first heard this from a chatty girl at the fishmongers. It looked like Sasuke was finally ready to revive his clan.

Well, good luck to the girl.

As she finished with her shopping, it occurred to her to think that Sasuke's visit to her that night might be genuine after all. It was possible that he had thought that she was still infatuated with him, though how he could even come to such a conclusion after all that had happened simply baffled her. He had thrown her affection back in her face far too many times for her to forget, not to mention he had genuinely wanted to end her life more than once.

Her declaration of love had been made when she was all but a child, still naïve to the ways of the world, but she had believed in it wholeheartedly. It hurt when he simply dismissed it. And now, after the passage of so many years, surely he did not think that she still harbored some kind of feelings for him.

She shook her head at the thought. No, Sasuke was not stupid. He must realized that he would get nowhere with her by now. So he must have an ulterior motive for his actions back then.

As she passed the Hokage Tower on her way back home, she the latest rumors reached her.

"Have you heard? That Uchiha killed them."

"Oh, about that! Of course. Everyone's talking about it. When did it happen?"

"Last night. He's locked up now."

"Tch! He should've been locked up long ago."

"Guess murdering the elders is good enough of a reason for them to finally lock the Uchiha up."

Sakura's eyes widened in comprehension.

Eighteen months after his return to Konoha, Sasuke had finally made his move and exacted revenge.

000

000

Tsunade was clearly preoccupied with her thoughts when Sakura stepped into her office. So she just stood there on the other side of the desk, waiting for the Hokage to explain why she was summoned.

A few minutes passed before Tsunade looked up.

"ANBU arrested Sasuke last week."

Sakura nodded once, having expected such an outcome after the news she had heard in the street.

"Many are outraged." Tsunade sighed. "They don't know the reason why Sasuke targeted those two elders."

For the lack of anything to say, Sakura simply nodded again. When she had learnt from Tsunade that Sasuke's brother had been ordered by the council to eliminate the Uchiha clan, she had been horrified. But that did not mean that she condoned Sasuke's actions. What the council had done was wrong. What Itachi had carried out was self-sacrificing and noble. But what Sasuke had done was just simply self-indulgence.

"He didn't resist arrest." Tsunade shook her head. "He did not even care that he was caught in the act by his ANBU guards."

Her brows furrowed. "He still has guards?"

Tsunade gave her an irritated look. "Of course. Do you think that I'd allow him complete freedom after everything?"

"You reinstated his shinobi status."

"Ah, yes." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto went on and on about it, so I gave him back the headband. But Sasuke knew that he was still being watched."

"He could have betrayed Konoha." Sakura's lips thinned. "In fact, he did. Killing the elders is wrong, no matter what they did in the past."

"If only things are that simple," Tsunade said heavily. "Yes, he should have let me deal with the elders, but I have to admit that his action considerably simplifies things for me." At Sakura's disapproving look, she said, "You know I've been trying to get them off my back. But I would never have ordered an assassination on them. Whatever decision they've made in the past, they did it with good intentions for the village. Things are different now, though."

Sakura sighed out loud, deciding that it was useless to discuss that particular point any further. Discussing anything to do with Sasuke irritated her. Instead, she asked, "Why have you summoned me, Shishou?"

"I want your opinion."

Arching a brow, she asked, "On what?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura held back a scowl of annoyance. "Fine."

"He is currently under lock-up. Firstly, Naruto thinks that he should be punished and then released under heavy guards. And the rest of those of your age would probably go with whatever he thinks. Secondly, the usual punishment for his crime is execution. The older shinobi did not like the idea of wiping out the last of such a powerful bloodline limit, even though they think that he deserved to be eliminated after all he had done." Tsunade exhaled loudly. "Before I reinstated him, I made him swear loyalty to Konoha. He'd broken his word when he killed the elders, so his words can no longer be trusted. He'd demonstrated that he is patient enough to wait more than a year until others are less wary of him, before carrying out what he intended to do all along."

Sakura wondered why Tsunade had assumed that he could be trusted even a little bit in the first place. Sure, she had allocated guards as backup, but if Sasuke truly wanted to create havoc in Konoha, he was powerful enough to do so, ANBU guards be damned. His assassination of the elders was an irrefutable proof of that.

"I know you probably think I'm soft," Tsunade admitted wryly. "Many of the older shinobi think that I've given in too easily to Naruto. But I always find it easy to believe in him. Isn't it odd how a few year ago, you'd probably agree with Naruto? You wouldn't have thought that I was soft then. It's different now, isn't it?"

"People change, Shishou," Sakura told her quietly. "But I'm still as loyal to Konoha as ever."

A shrewd look entered the Hokage's eyes. "But you're no longer as loyal to your friends?"

She felt the stab of Tsunade's words, but she ignored it. Over the past few years, her Shishou had tried to find out why she had changed her attitude so drastically, but Sakura had never felt comfortable enough to speak about it to anyone. It was simpler this way.

When Sakura remained silent, Tsunade sighed heavily, "You think I didn't notice the changes? I'm not blind, Sakura."

She frowned uneasily. "I know, Shishou."

"Never mind about that. You'll talk about it when you're ready," Tsunade finally said.

And that was why Sakura loved her Shishou so much. However bad things were, Tsunade was always there.

"So, Sakura. What do you think I should do about Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura glanced beyond the Hokage to look out of the large window behind her. Was she capable of giving her Shishou an unbiased opinion? Yes, she probably was, if she considered the situation logically. Her emotions would not come into play here.

Naruto did not want Sasuke to spend his entire life under lockup, and he definitely wouldn't agree to execute his friend. Konoha wanted to hold on to the Sharingan, but Sasuke could not be trusted not to cause harm. The solution was quite simple, and she was certain that Tsunade had thought of it. She probably just wanted another person to confirm it.

"If his chakra pathways are locked up, he wouldn't have enough strength to cause too much trouble. You can use a seal to anchor him to his house, and then make sure that he produces an offspring or two. That would ensure the continuation of the bloodline." Once the continuation was assured, Sasuke could be eliminated, but Sakura knew that Naruto would not allow such a thing to happen.

"That's what I think. Kakashi as well."

Sakura was not surprised.

Her Shishou shook her head slowly. "Few years ago, I'd have expected you to beg for his freedom. But it looks like you're more capable of an impartial opinion now." Tsunade nodded thoughtfully. "I'll need you to perform the sealing."

"Of course, Shishou."

Even though that was the last thing she felt like doing.

000

000

On the day the sealing was to be done, it seemed like half of Konoha had turned up to witness it. She had to squeeze her way through all of them to get through the door leading to the holding cells. The noise was deafening and she felt her patience slip as she was shoved all the way there.

And Naruto was right in front of the crowd.

Suddenly, it seemed like everyone decided to stop talking all at once to look at her and Naruto. She glanced briefly at him, noting that he wore an uncertain expression, before she reached out to press her hand on the security panel which controlled the door.

"Sakura?"

Her hand froze on the security panel. She did not remember the last time Naruto had addressed her directly. While she had kept herself busy with her own things, part of her knew that if Naruto had really wanted to keep in touch, he would have. The fact that he hadn't suggested that he had _not_ wanted to do so.

Voice calm, she responded, "Yes?"

"Can I go in?"

She turned to him then. "You're not authorized to enter."

His blue eyes were troubled. "But can't you just let me in?"

She shook her head. Without another word, she unsealed the door and stepped in, closing the door behind her. The door seal would not allow any unauthorized persons inside even if it was wide open, but it did not hurt to be cautious.

She could feel what seemed like hundreds of eyes boring into her back as she walked down the badly lightly corridor, but she ignored them. Her focus was fixed on the task ahead.

A minute later, she reached Sasuke's cell. A team of four ANBU guards were there to make sure nothing went wrong. Inside the holding cell, Sasuke was naked bar his underpants. His arms and legs were restrained with chakra-suppressing bindings, holding him spread-eagled against the wall. Someone had prepared him for the procedure, she noted.

She glanced at the ANBU nearest the door. "Let me in."

He nodded, and then proceeded to unseal the door. Although her security clearance level was high, she had no access to individual cells in this high-security wing of Konoha prison. When the door clanged open, she strode in until she reached her patient. His expression was stony as he stared at her.

Without a word, she laid out the necessary equipment. The bandages and scalpel were out first, followed by the jutsu ink and brush and lastly, the reference scroll to perform the technique. Although she had done this before, she would rather make doubly sure that she did not forget something.

With an efficient move, she drew a shallow cut on his wrist, allowing his blood to drip into the jutsu ink. Once that was done, she used the brush to annotate his skin at all the major chakra junction. His muscles tensed on occasion as the brush ran over his skin, but he did not react in any other way. Glancing once at the reference scroll to make sure that she hadn't missed anything, she drew chakra to her hand and began the complicated series of seals to inhibit and lock Sasuke's chakra.

She could feel Sasuke's gaze on her throughout the whole process but she ignored it and concentrated on carefully executing one complicated seal after another. On and off, her glowing hands made contact with the seals drawn on his skin. Each time, he flinched in reaction. Sakura had heard that it was not a pleasant sensation.

After a little more than two hours, the procedure was complete. With an inward sign of relief that she could get out of this oppressive cell soon, she called forth the last of her chakra to perform a check on the stability of the seals. She went through his neck, down to his arms and torso to find that so far, everything was in order.

"Is this permanent?" he asked.

"I'm not in the position to tell you. Ask the Hokage," she murmured as she checked the final seals on the left leg.

"You did this, so you should know."

Irritation coursed through her as she straightened to look into his onyx eyes. "I'm sure you've been informed of whatever you need to know."

His eyes narrowed as his expression turned hard. "What happened to you?"

Sakura stiffened at his very personal question. Who was he to ask that question, making it sound as if there was something wrong with her? There was nothing wrong with her. Surely he did not expect her to fawn over him the way she had done when she was twelve?

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," she finally returned.

The muscle in his jaw clenched briefly before he said, "You hide behind your professionalism."

"And why am I hiding?" she asked mildly, even though inside she felt like lashing out and walking away.

"Why don't you tell me?" he challenged.

Unable to hide her irritation any longer, she frowned at him. "What makes you think I will answer any question you ask, hm?"

"You wanted to save me."

"I used to," she admitted, her frown deepening. "But surely you can tell that things aren't the same anymore."

He stared at her for a long time but she did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her glance away, so she held his gaze.

Finally, he said, "No. Things are not the same."

000

000

A/N: And that concludes Part 1. As always, reviews are much appreciated…

:elle6778:


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews for Part 1. I'm surprised by the response, since this is so different from my usual stuff! Anyway, enough about that. Hope you will enjoy Part 2.

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><p><strong>The Perfect Dream by elle6778 – Part 2 <strong>

Sometimes, it was difficult to be one of the few people Tsunade most trusted. It inevitably meant that she was given many random tasks that had nothing to do with her main job in the hospital. What made it worse was that Tsunade knew that she had no personal life, so the Hokage felt no guilt at all for taking up all her time. Normally, she would not have minded all the extra work.

Her most recent task, however, was not something she wanted to be involved in, not that she could tell the Hokage that.

In order to ensure the continuation of the Uchiha bloodline, she had been tasked to study Sasuke's genetics as well as the potential candidates for his partner to find the most compatible match for him. Fortunately, the girls were there voluntarily, otherwise this whole process would be even more distasteful.

It was bad enough that Sasuke's attitude towards her was growing increasingly hostile of late. Each of the three times she had gone to the house he was currently sealed in, his anger had been evident from the chill in his attitude. She had not interacted with him more than was necessary to obtain a blood sample once and sperm samples twice. She supposed anyone would find it humiliating to hand over a vial of their sperm to a female medic but ultimately, Sasuke had no one to blame but himself for his current predicament. She wished he could see that, instead of making her feel uncomfortable during each of those visits.

She tried her best to remain indifferent to it all but sometimes she wanted to revert to her old self and shout and break _something_. Something like a certain Uchiha's face. Usually, refraining from these sorts of urges was not too difficult. She had plenty of practice over the past few years, which helped. However, the increased exposure to Sasuke, and Naruto to a lesser extent, was beginning to fray her control. It took all she had to maintain her professionalism whenever she was near him.

It took her a few weeks to work through the information she'd obtained, checking and rechecking the compatibility levels of all the candidates with Sasuke. In the end, she concluded that a certain kunoichi with a Hyuuga grandparent was his best match. Kaoru was twenty-one, the same age as Sasuke and she was a jounin. She suspected that the compatibility had something to do with the rumor that the Sharingan might have evolved from the Byakugan at some point in the distant past.

Her feelings were mixed when she finally completed her analysis and presented her findings to Tsunade. Even though she was relieved that she no longer had to work on this project, she also felt as if another chapter in her life had ended the moment Tsunade approved the candidate for the woman who would bear Sasuke's children. There was a tiny, buried part of her that mourned the loss of her _other_ dream, but she dismissed it as a child's fancy.

Sakura made sure that she kept herself _very_ busy after that, making sure that she did not catch her Shishou's attention for the fear that she would be given another task associated with Sasuke. Tsunade seemed to think that she was the best person to deal with the taciturn man, something that Sakura disagreed with wholeheartedly. She did not understand her shishou's reasons, seeing that she and Sasuke were practically strangers now and it wasn't as if she really had known him that well in the first place. The one she knew for sure was that being near Sasuke unsettled her, and she did not like the feeling.

To aid her attempt to seem occupied, she even agreed to go on a date with Sai, who was probably the only one out of the entire group of her old friends that remained in touch with her over the past few years. The date had gone surprisingly well, considering how socially-clueless Sai was. In fact, she actually enjoyed the meal and their conversation topics which ranged from books to their latest shinobi techniques.

She decided at the end of the date that perhaps going out with Sai was not so bad after all.

000

000

Sakura should have known that things were too good to last. She had managed to enjoy three whole months without any supplementary tasks from Tsunade before she was once again summoned by her shishou on her day off. As she entered the office, she could not help but feel a little apprehensive about the reason for her presence there.

Tsunade's grim expression only confirmed her feelings.

"Shishou? Is something wrong?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"There's a problem at the Uchiha's house."

Sakura closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. Three months of reprieve was far too short, but she could hardly say no to the Hokage if she asked for something. "What happened?"

"His fiancé tried to kill him."

Her eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?"

Tsunade's expression was tight. "Apparently, Kaoru's distantly related to Danzou. Her parents were part of his group of supporters. They wanted revenge. I'm betting that she volunteered to be a candidate just to get close enough to Sasuke to kill him."

A heavy weight seemed to settle over her chest. "Revenge begets revenge," Sakura murmured. "Will it ever end?"

Tsunade sighed. "Unfortunately, that's how things usually work."

"So, what are their conditions now?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Not good. Sasuke's chakra is fully bound but he's still a very skilled shinobi. Kaoru is a jounin, so she's not a pushover even though she's not anywhere close to Sasuke's level when he's at full capacity. Both of them are badly injured. The ANBU had already brought Kaoru to the hospital."

"And you want me to go over to heal Sasuke," Sakura guessed with a sinking heart. She truly did not want to see him again but the thought of him being injured and in pain did not sit well with her.

Tsunade nodded. "Sasuke's not a popular patient at the best of times while Kaoru has many friends who will take her side on this. It's probably unsafe to send Sasuke to the hospital."

"Alright, Shishou."

"I know I can count on you, Sakura."

Resigning herself to her fate, Sakura went to collect the necessary supplies from the hospital before heading over to Sasuke's house. Sai and another ANBU were posted outside and Naruto was there as well. She nodded a greeting at them and was about to press her hand to the seal panel on the door when the blond came up behind her. Even though she was facing away from him, she could _feel _the power of his presence. He was practically vibrating with tension.

"Sakura."

When had he stopped calling her Sakura-chan? She did not remember. It never failed to sound strange when he addressed her without the –chan, but that could be just her imagination. He didn't have a reason to hesitate. It wasn't as if this distance between them was a recent development. The distance was the norm now.

"How bad is it, Sakura? Tsunade-Baa-chan won't let me see him."

She glanced over her shoulder at him, not missing the stress etched upon his features. "I don't know. I'm going in to check on him now."

"You…" He swallowed hard, his eyes flickering all over her face as if searching for something. "You'll fix him, right? Heal him?"

"Of course."

"Even after… everything?" he asked quietly, almost pleadingly.

Everything? What everything, she wanted to ask. Did he think that she would let Sasuke die because he broke her heart? Or perhaps because he had threatened her life in the past? Or even because he had set in motion the first steps that led to Team 7's destruction?

But instead of all that, she told him seriously, "It's my job. He won't die under my watch if I can help it. Now I need to go."

She knew Naruto well enough to understand that he wanted to say more, but refrained from doing so because it would only delay his friend's healing.

The security seal allowed her to enter, and she made her way to Sasuke's bedroom. On her way there, she noticed that the house was utterly trashed. Furniture was broken and cracks fingered across the walls. It must have been some nasty fight between Sasuke and Kaoru.

Still dressed in blood-stained, tattered clothing, Sasuke was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, his entire body covered with lacerations. There was also a deep gash over his left eye, cutting through his eyebrow but just missing his eye. When she got to his bedside, both his eyes snapped open, and then immediately narrowed in a mix of suspicion and… Was that confusion? She had to check his head to make sure he did not suffer from concussion.

"I'm here to heal you," she told him calmly as she reached down with glowing hands.

He jerked away from her, most likely still strung up from the fight. His reaction irritated her greatly because really, it wasn't as if she _wanted_ to be here. But what she wanted did not matter at this moment. He was injured and she was the medic assigned to his case. So she would do her job the best she could, as she had told Naruto.

"Just calm down," she told him briskly before she approached him again.

This time, he stayed still. His eyes, however, remained fixed on her every move in a way that reminded her of an injured wild animal. Hostility practically radiated from him in waves. It was not until ten minutes later that he seemed to finally release his aggression.

Her initial examination revealed five broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a large gash in his thigh, and a shattered kneecap. Sasuke flinched back into the pillows when she reached for his head to check for damage there, causing her to frown down impatiently at him. Saying nothing, she pressed on to find that he suffered no head injuries. His face, however, was another matter.

Lightly, she touched the cut on his eyebrow. "What happened here?"

"She tried to cut out my eye," he replied curtly.

Sakura hissed through her clenched teeth. She might not agree with everything Sasuke had done, but to attack him while he was powerless to defend himself was still wrong. The fact that Kaoru had tried to blind him, knowing that Konoha wanted to preserve the Sharingan, mean that she could be branded a traitor. Her parents might be implicated as well. Was revenge worth all that? It sounded to Sakura that it was another life wasted.

"Is that sympathy I see on your face?"

She frowned at him, while reminding herself to keep her distance. "Is that unacceptable? She was wrong to attack you or anyone else like this." Placing her glowing palm over his body she instructed, "Brace yourself, I'm going to numb your body to minimize the discomfort."

He flinched as her chakra entered his body, but his eyes stayed on her. "You think that what she did was wrong even when you hate me?"

"I never said I hate you."

"I can read between the lines."

She averted her eyes from him, mulling over his words. Did she hate him? Hate was too strong a word to describe what she felt, she supposed. She probably did not hate him, but she did not want to be in contact with him anymore than necessary. He made her tense and edgy. She supposed it was natural to feel a certain amount of wariness towards someone who had tried to kill her. Even if he pledged that he had no such intentions this time, she knew that she would not belief him. He had proven that his words meant nothing when he swore fealty to Konoha and then killed the elders. Anyone should know by now that any interaction with him had to be treated with caution.

Hate was probably too strong a description for what she was feeling. But she was not completely indifferent too, she had to admit. It was confusing. Perhaps it was best not to analyze things too much.

"You admit that you hate me then?" he pressed.

She looked up at him, lips tilting wryly. "I don't hate you. I just don't trust you."

"Hn."

And that was that. Or so she thought until she found his eyes still locked on her questioningly. She tried to ignore the bubble of curiosity within her as she moved on to heal his ribs.

"What about Naruto?"

Her brows drew together as she pumped more chakra into Sasuke. "Naruto? What about him?" she asked absently, trying to heal the stubborn break. It seemed that she had missed something during the diagnostics. How careless.

"You don't talk to him."

"Of course I do. I just spoke to him before I came in here," she replied, and then withdrew her hands. "I need to physically push your ribs back in place before I carry on, alright. It's going to hurt."

He nodded once.

She manipulated his broken bones back into position carefully. Although her chakra was already inside his body working to numb his pain receptors, the way he flinched and tensed told her that he was in considerable pain. As much as she disliked causing her patients more pain, she was glad of it this time because it stopped him from talking about Naruto. She was not surprised that he was curious, but she was surprised that no one else had told him what had occurred in the past to cause the rift between her and everyone else.

When she finally finished mending his ribs, her chakra level was too low for her to be of any further use. Carefully, she tugged the sheets over him and stepped back. When her eyes reached his face, she noticed that he was still in a lot of pain. It did not surprise her, considering the extent of his injuries. But there was nothing she could do to fix the injuries now. She was too drained.

"I'll come back tomorrow, when my chakra is replenished," she assured him.

Sasuke glanced down at himself with a grimace.

"Try not to move. You'll only make things worse. In fact, I think I'll get you some strong painkillers. You'll sleep more comfortably."

"No."

Her brow rose. "No? But it will help with the pain."

He shook his head, clearly adamant. "I want to be alert."

She gave him a long look, and then nodded. It was not as if she did not understand why. As far as Sasuke was concerned, he was in enemy territory. There was always a chance that someone might slip past all the security and the guards. He would be completely defenseless if he could not react appropriately to the threat.

Though she really could not see how he could possibly defend himself at all in this state.

When she left, Naruto was there. She took pity on his desperation and before he could ask, she told him, "He is badly injured, but he will live."

The relief was stark on Naruto's face. "Thank you, Sakura."

She gave him a nod and then turned to walk away.

000

000

When she returned the next day, Naruto was not there but Sai was. She stopped to exchange a few words with him and ended up agreeing to another date for tomorrow night. This would be their third one, if she recalled correctly. She would never have thought that the idea would even cross her mind, but she felt rather optimistic about their 'relationship' going further.

It made her feel almost lighthearted, a state she had almost forgotten. It had been years since she had felt this way. Instead, she had been going about performing her jobs so single-mindedly that all she felt at the end of each day was either bone-deep exhaustion or numbness. Both of them were states she welcomed, because it stopped her from thinking and regretting too much.

She shook her head to clear the melancholic thoughts as she walked into Sasuke's bedroom. He looked away from the window to stare at her expressionlessly as she made her way to his bedside.

"How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine."

She resisted the urge to snort in disbelief. He looked no paler than yesterday, but now there were dark shadows under his eyes. No doubt he had been unable to sleep last night due to the pain. It could be avoided if he'd taken a painkiller, but clearly, he preferred the sleepless night than to leave himself vulnerable.

Reaching into her medic pouch, she took out a small bottle of pills and left it on the nightstand beside the bed. At his questioning look, she explained, "Painkillers, if you change your mind."

He nodded once.

She drew chakra to her hands, quickly performing an overall check before she focused on the next injury. As her chakra hummed, she knitted his tissues and encouraged his bones to mend.

"Are there other… candidates?" he asked suddenly.

She flicked a glance at him, taking a moment to understand just what it was that he was asking. And then she frowned when she realized what he must be referring to. "You mean, another woman for you to marry?"

"Aa."

"I don't know," she finally told him. "Tsunade-sama will let you know if there's one."

Now that he'd brought this up, it occurred to her that there would always be a risk to him. They could vet all the candidates, but the girls could have a hidden agenda that they had told no one. Besides, after the beating-up Kaoru had suffered, regardless of the fact that she had started the fight, Sakura doubted that many would volunteer to be Sasuke's wife. They would be too scared.

"I don't want any others," he declared flatly.

She frowned as she urged a particularly stubborn section of torn tissue to knit together. "Your agreement requires you to produce at least one child," she pointed out.

A long silence passed without a word from either of them. She continued to heal him, concentrating hard so that she could finish sooner. Now that she had agreed to go on a date with Sai, it occurred to her that she should get something new to wear. She did not want to make a big deal of the whole thing but she still had some feminine pride, and that pride dictated that she should not recycle one of the dresses she'd worn before for this date.

"What about you?"

Her chakra faltered to a halt as she raised a brow at him, too distracted to remember what they were talking about. "What about me?"

"Will you agree if I ask you?" His eyes darted away to the window. "To help me revive the Uchiha clan?"

Her entire body froze when she comprehended the meaning of his words. Shock and disbelief were her predominant reactions and it took a moment or two before she managed to regain her composure. There was no way he was serious. He was just pushing her for a reaction. That was it. Just remain calm, she told herself.

Keeping her tone even, she responded, "It will not come to that. You should know that there are other ways to do this without putting your life at risk." Like artificial insemination and using a surrogate mother to carry the baby.

"Remove the chakra seals. Then I won't be at risk from anyone."

She gave him a weary smile. "But the rest of us and Konoha will be at risk instead." It also did not escape her notice that he did not push the issue of her helping him revive his clan, which confirmed her suspicion that he was not being serious.

"I'll give my word not to harm Konoha."

She shook her head. "I'm not in the position to make this sort of decision, but I doubt Tsunade will buy that again. You abused the freedom you were given when you killed the elders."

His eyes flashed as his anger rose. "They deserved it. They were responsible for the massacre. There was no need to make Itachi kill his entire clan."

"That doesn't make what you did right," she told him bluntly. "What if others got hurt while you took your revenge?"

"There was no collateral damage. I made sure they were alone."

She had not known about that, but it did not matter at this point. Sasuke would not be allowed freedom because no one trusted him anymore. Except maybe Naruto. As usual.

Unfortunately, she ran out of chakra again before she could finish healing all his wounds. His injuries were quite severe and it meant that she would need to return again. Hopefully, this time he would take the painkillers and get some sleep. He would heal better with adequate rest.

"If you're in pain, take two pills," she instructed as she bandaged him.

He wasn't looking at her. "Aa."

"You need a couple more sessions at least before everything is done."

"Hn."

"I'll return tomorrow."

000

000

The session with Sasuke the next day went by without a hitch. He was more contemplative and withdrawn this day, which was fine by her. It meant that she could concentrate on her work without any distraction. Because the little conversations they'd been having _were_ distractions like no other she'd known. Sasuke had never been talkative in the past, so the fact that he kept drawing her into conversation these days, however brief they were, made her a little uneasy. It made her wonder what he was trying to do. Her old self would have been ecstatic that Sasuke was 'opening up' to her.

Her new self, however, remained skeptical of his motives.

"Right, we're almost there," she told him when she finished with his leg.

"Hn."

"One more session tomorrow and you're all done."

"Hn."

Of course, a simple 'thank you' would probably kill him.

With an inward shrug, she left Sasuke's house. The two ANBU guards nodded at her in acknowledgement, but she could not be certain of their identities, masked as they were. Sai was off duty today, which was why they had arranged to meet tonight.

Two hours later, she was seated in a sushi restaurant across Sai. It was a beautifully designed place and the food was equally well presented. The conversation flowed between them unhindered by any troubling topics. She told Sai about some of her hospital cases, they discussed Kakashi's latest excuses for his tardiness, and he told her about some of his recent, less-classified missions. It was all very pleasant and before she knew it, the meal drew to an end.

Sai walked her back to her place as usual. They did so in companionable silence, until they reached her place.

"We're here," he said.

She smiled at him. "Thanks for dinner. It was lovely."

"I believe there's something I need to do at this point."

Her eyes widened slightly when he stepped closer. She knew what he intended, but saw no reason to avoid it. After all, she was curious.

His lips were cold but he kissed surprisingly well. She did not know why she would have thought otherwise. At the rate Sai went through books, he probably had more knowledge than anyone else in Konoha about all sorts of things. Perhaps he had been gaining practical knowledge from some girls as well.

When he lifted his head, he looked only a little flushed but her entire body was tingling with the yearning for him to continue. Maybe she just missed human contact, she tried to tell herself.

"Is that satisfactory?" he asked curiously.

She could not help it. She laughed out loud, causing Sai to look at her strangely.

"It's not meant to be funny, I don't think," he murmured thoughtfully.

She held up her hands. "No. No. I'm laughing because of the way you asked." Swallowing her laughter, she told him, "It was very enjoyable, Sai. Both the dinner and the kiss. Thank you."

And it was then that she sensed that they were not alone. When she turned around, she saw a figure on the other side of the street, staring at them with shock upon his features. He stood as still as a statue even when she began to frown at his unexpected presence.

"It's Naruto," Sai supplied. "Perhaps he wishes to speak to you."

"Perhaps," she muttered, turning back to Sai.

"I should leave then." Nodding at her, with a real smile gracing his lips, he added, "We should do this again."

"I'd love to, Sai."

And then he was gone in a puff of smoke.

She wondered what Naruto wanted, but when she turned around, he was no longer standing there.

000

000

When Sakura walked up to Sasuke's house this day, she did so with the awareness that this would be the final healing session. She nodded a greeting at the ANBU guards and then moved straight to Sasuke's room.

Sasuke was his usual withdrawn self when she began the treatment. As much as it irritated her, she made herself ignore it. Besides, it did not matter because soon enough, she would be returning to her usual routine. With that thought, she proceeded to refine all the patching she had done over the last few days, making sure that everything was in order.

"Why Sai?"

She looked up, confused by the sudden break in the silence. "Sai?"

Sasuke glowered darkly at her. "You refused dinner with me but you went out with Sai."

She froze, blinking at him in astonishment.

"Well?" he barked. "Did you?"

"Well, yes," she said slowly, uncertain about what was going on.

Sasuke sounded almost jealous but that did not make sense at all. He had no such feelings for her. If he did, he would not be able to come at her with a Chidori with the full intent to kill. She had _felt_ the force of his lightning buzzing against her skin just a fraction of a second before Naruto took her out of harm's way.

A small voice at the back of her head reminded her that _she_ had tried to sink a kunai in his heart right before that. But ultimately, she had been unable to go through with it. Surely that made a difference?

"How often?" he asked icily.

She suppressed the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Her head was beginning to throb. "What?"

"Was yesterday the first time?"

She frowned at him. "Look. I don't see why I should answer you. I'm treating your injuries but that's the extent of our involvement. My dates are personal."

"Just answer me!"

His imperious tone made her want to slap the arrogance out of him. Just who did he think he was? But perhaps she would gain a better idea of what the hell was happening here if she just humored him.

"No. I've gone out with Sai on three dates."

"Will you go again?"

"Of course."

His expression seemed to crack and now, his dark eyes were gleaming with fury. Could he actually be _jealous_? Really? It defied belief but she found herself itching to find out.

She probed, "You sounded almost jealous a while back."

His lips compressed into a thin line, but he did not refute her statement.

Her eyes widened with comprehension. His silence as good as confirmed that he _was_ jealous. "But you can't be!" she protested as her brain threatened to shut down in shock. "It's not as if we have a relationship of _any_ sort."

"I asked you out," he said stonily.

"And I said no. That hardly constitutes a relationship."

He looked away from her. His brows were furrowed deeply as he stared out of the window. She took it as a sign that he no longer wanted to talk about it. It was fine by her. After all, she was only here under orders to heal him. It was not as if she volunteered to help him to get close to him or anything like that.

She exhaled loudly. This whole conversation disturbed her, making her feel agitated and out of sorts. She had no idea how to deal with this. And frankly, she was suspicious of his motives. She simply did not trust him. For all she knew, he was planning something insidious that required her cooperation one way or another. He was softening her up for something, because the alternative defied belief.

The next hour passed in silence as she finished healing him.

Then she straightened, easing her professional mask over herself. "Now everything is healed. Just keep off your feet for a couple of days and you'll be fine."

"Don't you need to come back for a follow up?"

"No." Not if she could help it. And Tsunade had better not ask her to do anything that brought her close to him again. She did not think that she could handle any more of this tension.

"Hn."

When she left Sasuke's house this time, she found herself hurrying away as if she was actually _escaping_. She hoped, for what seemed like the hundredth time, that she would not see him again anytime soon.

000

000

It seemed that fate delighted in torturing her.

Two and a half years ago, just as she had thought that she was nicely settled in her routine, Sasuke had returned to Konoha. That event had threatened to shake her world off its axis but she had dealt with that and managed to carry on as if his return made no difference to her. And it hadn't, except for the few times she had to treat him in the professional capacity.

Now, two months after she had last seen the Uchiha, Sakura found herself confused and a perhaps little angered by the latest disruption to her routine. Scowling, she reached out for the gift tag attached to the offending object and read it. Apparently it was a thank you gift. She stared at it intently, wishing that it would simply disappear. 'It' being a brace of gleaming new kunai with an Uchiha fan engraved at each of the hilts, sitting on her desk innocently.

She dropped the tag and stared at the gift suspiciously. Was she so stupid as to believe that Sasuke actually did this only to thank her for healing him after he had been beaten up by his ex-fiancé? No. Such a gesture was completely out of character for him. There had been numerous examples of his disregard for others. Look at how he had treated Karin, who had allowed him to _suck_ her blood to heal himself. Instead of thanking her, he had fully intended to kill her. Look at how how he had treated Kakashi after everything the Copy-Nin had done to help him progress and grow stronger. Not to mention Naruto, who had never stopped believing in Sasuke despite the numerous times Sasuke had tried to kill him.

No one in Konoha trusted him. At least not enough to volunteer for the dubious honor of becoming the surrogate mother for his child. The ones who'd been approached had voiced concerns about his sanity, especially after the Kaoru incident. Tsunade was at her wits end, because although she could _order_ someone to accept the task, she did not want to do so due to the personal nature of it. So in the end, the Hokage had to just leave him there under house arrest, relatively harmless with his chakra sealed and his person bound to the house. So much for the continuation of the Uchiha bloodline. It looked like Konoha might have to carry on without it.

The rapping on her door made her look up. Before she could call out anything, Karin had already pushed the door open and walked in with an armful of paper. Her expression was a mix of anger and confusion. Sakura decided that for once, she would not tell the girl off for barging in.

"I heard about that," the bespectacled girl said without preamble, jerking her head at the brace of kunai on the desk. "It's from _him_, isn't it?"

Sakura frowned at the item in question. "It's supposed to be a gesture of his appreciation for all the healing I did."

"Well, that's new. The last time I healed him, he wanted to repay me by ending my life," Karin ground out bitterly. "Kaoru must have knocked some sense into him when they fought."

"This doesn't seem like something he'd do, does it?" she murmured.

"The whole hospital is talking about it. About what a nice present it is." Karin snorted. "He has an ulterior motive for this sudden niceness. I wonder what he wants from you."

"Who knows?" Sakura said quietly. "I'm not accepting it."

Karin studied her thoughtfully, and then said, "Look. He can be… persuasive. In his own quiet way."

Sakura held her gaze, acknowledging the girl's warning. "I won't be so easily fooled."

The redhead nodded curtly. And then, pushing her spectacles up her nose with one hand, she stepped forward and dropped some files on the desk. It was the reports from the Maternity Ward, where Karin had requested to be moved to once it became clear that Sasuke was remaining in Konoha.

"Thanks."

With another nod, Karin turned and walked out of her office, leaving Sakura alone.

A grimace twisted her face as she stared at the brace of kunai. She would not accept this gift. After all, it was not necessary since she had been paid for that extra task. This sort of gift was too much, too personal.

Sasuke would simply have to take it back.

000

000

Two week later, Sakura was pressing her hand on the security pad to enter Sasuke's house. The ANBU guards kept a wide berth from her, clearly sensing her fury. Well, she was beyond furious, she thought as she stepped into the house. Being subtle and polite had gotten her nothing but speculative looks in the hospital when each gift arrived. Each one clawed at her control over her emotions a little bit more until she felt as if she'd been scratched raw and this pissed her off royally.

To hell with being professional and composed. This situation required a whole lot more than that.

He was seated cross-legged on the floor facing the glass door leading out to the landscaped garden beyond when she stepped into the living room. At her approach, he opened his eyes and watched her silently.

She dropped the box containing his latest offering beside him and then glared down.

"Are you incapable of taking a hint?" she snapped. "The last thirteen gifts I returned told you nothing?"

He stood up in one smooth move and faced her. "You only have to accept one. Then there would be no need for me to send others."

"Why are you sending me all those gifts?"

"I'm waiting for you to like one enough to accept."

She simmered, both in annoyance and frustration. "You're under house arrest. How the hell did you manage to get hold of all the gifts in the first place?"

"I have my ways."

"How mysterious," she retorted sarcastically. She'd bet that Naruto was involved in this somehow. "Well, I'm here to tell you that I won't be accepting any gifts from you. Not one! As I've written for the last thirteen times, I was just doing my job when I healed you. Nothing more. There's no need for you give me presents."

"Hn."

Something seemed to burst in her head and she felt her annoyance rising even further, boiling over. Sasuke's complete nonchalance to the entire situation was only making things worse. She was in danger of completely losing control over her temper, and _that_ simply would not do.

Glaring at him, she bit out, "Stop sending me things."

She spun around, too worked up to keep from stomping her way to the door. When her hand was on the doorknob, his voice rang out.

"Sakura."

She stopped but didn't turn around. "What?"

"I'll stop sending gifts if you have dinner with me."

She tensed, and then turned around slowly. Her grip on her control finally snapping, she snarled loudly, "NO! Are you out of your mind?"

"No."

"You're under _house_ _arrest_! Or haven't you noticed?"

"Come here for dinner."

She gaped at him, incredulous. His expression was inscrutable, but that was not surprising. Why did he want her to eat dinner with him? Was he lonely, or did he want something from her?

"Just once."

Fed up, she asked bluntly, "What exactly do you hope to achieve from this? I'm not gullible enough to believe that you just want my company. You've spent years avoiding me in Konoha and out of Konoha."

There was an odd flicker in his eyes and then he turned to face the garden again. For a long while, he did not speak. But when he did, his tone was gruff, as if he was reluctant to speak the words. It made her wonder if he was actually sincere.

"Why do you think I don't want your company?"

Something, her damaged heart maybe, contracted. "Is that what you want me to believe?" she asked, even though she knew that she should just walk out. This conversation was beyond insane. She had never heard Sasuke say so much before. Especially these things.

"What do you believe, then?" he asked instead.

Her eyes narrowed. "I believe you want something from me, and you think you can acquire it by getting close to me," she told him bluntly.

His gaze remained fixed on the garden. "That's true."

She sucked in a sharp breath. He had just as much as admitted that he had an ulterior motive for seeking her out. She tasted disappointment at the back of her throat, but disappointed in what, she could not tell. Surely she did not harbor any hopes that he might want to see her for the sake of seeing her? She had stopped being so foolish a long time ago.

In the end, she told him, "I've no intention of helping you."

He turned to her, his onyx orbs piercing. "I'm not going to hurt you, Sakura," he insisted firmly.

She snorted derisively. "Sure. I believe you."

He stood up. In a flash, he was face to face with her with barely two inches separating them. Chakra flooded her limbs in preparation for a fight, but she stood her ground, not willing to back down. This close, she could see the individual grey flecks of his irises. It had been a very long time since they stood this close together, if ever.

"You once said that things are not the same."

Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

"People can change, Sakura. You should know that better than anyone else."

Her eyes widened at his words, spoken in a tone so frank that she found it difficult to ignore. It was also hard to ignore how tall he was with him standing so close to her. This encounter was making her feel far too conscious of him for her own peace of mind. She needed some distance between them, and fast.

"One meal. Tomorrow night," he told her, his tone unmistakably earnest.

Once upon a time, she had this dream of Sasuke asking her out like this. Like he _truly_ wanted her to go out with him. It did not matter what the date was as long as she was with him because that was the only important thing. She would have accepted it with a smile and a squeal of joy. Her heart would have fluttered with the delight of having her perfect dream come true.

Now, however, all she felt was a heavy ache in her chest. All this was too little, too late. Too many irrevocable moves had been made by everyone and things had changed far too much.

Finally, she looked into his eyes and said, "I can't."

Perhaps it was cowardly, but she could not bear to stay any longer. Without another word, she turned and walked away. The rapid pad of her feet against the floor seemed to mock her, reminding her that as desperate as she was to leave, she had not been fast enough to miss the obvious look of disappointment and regret which flashed across Sasuke's face.

And that made her feel angry and sad at the same time.

000

000

A/N: No, that's not the end. As much as I tried to keep this as a 2-parter, it is just not happening.

:elle6778:


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews for Part 2. Okay, I'm going to tell you now that I feel a bit silly. This story started its life as a one shot. When I finished the framework, it looked as if it would be a 2-part story. Then, I find myself unable to fit everything into Part 2, so I decided to end it in Part 3. And now, guess what? There will be a Part 4 :head-desk:. Some of you reviewers have foreseen this happening, I believe. Anyway, to make myself seem more reliable and less wooly, I'm going to say that Part 4 _might_ be the last chapter. In the meantime, please enjoy Part 3…

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><p><strong>The Perfect Dream by elle6778 – Part 3<strong>

The best part of the past week had been taken up by Sakura spending all her free time working at the hospital. It meant that she had no spare time to think and better still, no one to disturb her. The plan worked well mostly. Unfortunately, when she reached home, the silence in her place seemed to act like a catalyst for her brain to veer into the one territory she'd been trying to avoid ever since the last time she had seen Sasuke.

Much as she hated to admit it, she was haunted by that look on Sasuke's face. Her mind insisted that all the hurt was nothing less than he deserved, but some part of her could not handle seeing Sasuke that way. It made her feel guilty for causing it even though she knew that she was being silly. Why should she feel guilty for not accepting a dinner invitation? Why should she feel guilty of takings steps to make sure that she would not be hurt?

She sighed out loud as she put down the book she'd been trying to read but had so far failed to take in a single word. These thoughts had been making tracks in her mind over and over again and they were distracting as hell. Perhaps she needed to be doing _something_.

Straightening up from the couch in her living room, she glanced at the clock. It was eight. The grocery shop should be open for another hour. Deciding to do something productive, she quickly dressed and left her home.

An hour later, weighed down with bags of groceries, she took the long route home. The cold air was invigorating and it helped her numb her thoughts. She was glad that there were not many people about in this area at this time of the night even though she knew that most of them would not bother her anyway.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when she turned a corner to find someone familiar standing there. Her steps faltered only for a second before she continued to stride past him.

"Sakura."

She stopped and then turned around to fully face him. "Yes, Naruto?"

He looked agitated and almost apprehensive when he spoke, "Sakura. I'm probably the last person you want to see after such a long day. But I need to say something to you."

She frowned at his words but did not move away. "What is it?" she asked wearily.

Naruto glanced away briefly before returning his gaze to her. "It's Sasuke."

She should have expected this. "I don't see why you should be talking to me about Sasuke."

"He wants to see you."

Sakura felt her head throb. "Is he injured?"

"No."

"Poisoned?"

Naruto sighed. "No."

"Then there's no need for me to see him," Sakura told him calmly even though inside she felt like she wanted to shriek. This was the last topic she wanted to talk about tonight. Or any other night, for that matter.

"I think he wants to talk to you."

She exhaled loudly. Yes, she could imagine that Sasuke wanted to talk to her. Actually no, she could not imagine that, because never in the past had Sasuke initiated a conversation with her. This was something so new and foreign that she simply did not know how to deal with it.

"He has been more withdrawn than usual." Naruto watched her cautiously. "Did something happen?"

"He asked me to join him for dinner and I refused," she replied bluntly.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "You refused?"

She frowned. "Is that so surprising? After everything?"

"I suppose…" He shrugged. "I just thought that you love him."

"That was a long time ago," she said stiffly.

Naruto's expression scrunched in confusion as he blinked slowly at her. It was so familiar that it made her heart ache. It made her remember the missed opportunities and all the what-might-have-beens. This was one of the reasons why she found it hard to talk to Naruto and it was worse this time since the topic of conversation was Sasuke. Besides, this conversation really served no purpose aside from agitating her.

"I need to go," she announced quietly.

Naruto's blue eyes searched her face. "You really don't love him anymore?" he pressed.

Sakura shook her head and then walked past him. Only then did she notice Hinata standing some distance away. When their eyes met, Sakura gave her a polite nod of greeting which the dark-haired girl returned. She might not mix with them anymore, but Hinata had never actively hurt her like some of the rest. Still, it did not mean that she would do more than be civil to the Hyuuga girl. It was safer to maintain a distance with everyone except for a select few.

She refused to risk her emotions again.

000

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><p>000<p>

Two weeks later, Naruto appeared at her doorstep with a note from Sasuke.

It was as if fate refused to give her a break. She had only just managed to convince herself that it was stupid to feel guilty about Sasuke recently and _this_ had to happen.

"I don't want it."

His expression crumpled and it made her feel like a monster. What the hell was happening to her? She'd managed to keep her composure for years but lately everything seemed to be getting to her. She supposed the previous lack of contact with Naruto probably had something to do with it, since he'd always had the ability to get under her skin. Now he seemed to be appearing left and right.

"Please, Sakura. He made me promise to bring this to you. Just take it, alright? You don't have to read it now if you don't want to."

She shook her head mutely.

He exhaled loudly. "Fine. Then..." Hesitantly, his eyes flickered to her door and then back to her. "Can I come in?"

She froze. In all these years, Naruto had never visited her and now he was asking if he could come in? What the hell was going on lately?

"Why?" she finally asked.

He looked pained. "Because we need to talk. About what happened all those years ago."

Her heart seemed to stop. She wanted to tell him no and shut the door in his face but she could not do it. Deep down, she knew that he was right. They needed to talk. But why did Naruto wait until now? Why not all those years ago? How should she answer? Did she want to just walk away from this and remain oblivious to his side of the story? Did she want to throw away the chance to find out why he stayed away from her as long as he had done?

She grimaced. No. However this turned out, the very least she owed to herself was closure.

With a curt nod, she pulled the door open and stood aside. He seemed nervous when he stepped in, even though he managed to force out a small smile.

She walked past him to the window gracing the end of the living room and stared out into the dark night as she wondered how exactly one would broach a topic that should have been hashed out years ago. This conversation was long overdue. The passage of time had not blurred the details but it had softened the edges, so maybe it would be less painful for them to confront this now.

Naruto's tone was somber when he spoke. "How did we get like this?"

She closed her eyes briefly and steeled herself against the ache in her chest. How did they get like this? She supposed when he had not spoken to her those first few days after the mess had begun, she'd been too hurt to approach him herself. The next thing she knew, circumstances had forced them apart. It almost seemed… fated.

"We used to talk about everything," Naruto continued, his voice cracking a little.

Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes again. "Things are… awkward between us, ne?" she started, staring out at the streets beyond.

She heard him shuffle, and then say, "I don't want it like this, Sakura. But I don't know how to fix it."

She lowered her head to study her white-knuckled grip on the window sill. "That's the problem, Naruto."

"What is?" he asked, caution lining his tone.

"You want to fix everything on your own. You always think that it is _your_ responsibility. Sometimes, others are responsible as well." She knew that this time, it was _her_ who carried most of the blame for the rift. Her pride had stopped her from making a move.

There was a long pause before he spoke. "Back then, after we left Sasuke, I didn't really understand, did I?"

She shook her head, lips twisting wryly. "You kept saying that you need to bring Sasuke back, that I shouldn't get involved because of the danger. You didn't seem to understand that we are a team and that's what teams do. It was like back when we were twelve. The functional members of the team were you, Sasuke and Kakashi. I'm just a deadweight."

"That's not true, Sakura-chan!" he protested vehemently as he caught her shoulder to turn her around to face him.

"Then explain to me," she demanded angrily, hating the way all the pent up emotion was now swelling up again after so long. After so many years of suppressing everything, it felt like everything was overflowing uncontrollably. "Explain to me why I always felt left behind even though I'm not that weak little girl anymore. Just days after we got back from that confrontation with Sasuke, you and the others left to go after him. That's not the last time either. Few years back, you, Kakashi and Yamato went off to find Sasuke without me. Again. Did it even occur to you to _ask_ if I'd like to come? No, of course not!"

His distress showed in the way he dragged a hand through his hair. "I just hate the idea of you being in danger. And that time, when Sasuke came at you with that Chidori, I thought… I thought…" He closed his eyes and inhaled shakily. "I thought I wouldn't make it in time. I can't let you die, Sakura."

His words made her eyes burn with emotion.

"I don't want to leave you behind, but I don't want to put you in danger, either!" he declared loudly, throwing up his hands in the air. "Like that day you just went off to confront Sasuke alone! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"You pushed me away that day, Naruto."

"I was… angry," he admitted, not meeting her eyes.

That was unexpected. "Angry? At what?"

His expression was pained when he looked at her. "I didn't want you to say you love me just because you think that will make me stop looking for Sasuke. I didn't want you to have to lie."

"I think I did really love you in that way then, Naruto," she admitted quietly, holding his gaze. "At least I was very close to being completely in love with you."

His eyes widened.

"I know you don't believe me," she continued with a bitter huff. "Although I'm sure I'd tried more than once to tell you that I was telling the truth. Everyone seemed to think I was lying and that I was still in love with Sasuke. I don't understand why, because it has been years since I mentioned Sasuke in that way."

He stared at her, lips parted in shock. "Sakura…"

She waved him into silence. "But it doesn't matter anymore. That's all in the past." A heavy breath left her. "It's just something that I need to say now to clear the air once and for all."

It was a while before he murmured, "I… I didn't realize, Sakura." He throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Two weeks ago, when I told Hinata that you said that you don't love Sasuke anymore, she insisted that you could be telling the truth back then. And…and I still didn't believe it."

She gave him a small smile. "It's alright. The whole thing is pointless anyway. I know you're happy with Hinata now."

He looked troubled. "But back then, Ino… Ino said…"

Sakura's lips compressed into a thin line as she looked away from him.

That day, by the time they'd arrived back in Konoha, the awkwardness between her and Naruto and the rest of the team had reached its peak. The discomfort had remained even when the rest of their friends had turned up to greet them. Then Ino had pounced on her right after Kiba had spilled the details of what had occurred. Until now, she could still remember Ino's voice ringing out in the streets.

"Nani? Why did you say you love Naruto when you love Sasuke?" she'd shrieked. "That was your brilliant plan? Couldn't you have just _told_ Naruto the truth?"

She'd been embarrassed. "Ino, not so loud. I just can't make myself do it. There is no way Naruto would've agreed to kill Sasuke."

The blonde's eyes had narrowed as she said, "Fine. But people just don't say things like that to another without meaning it, Forehead."

"I meant it," she'd ground out.

Ino had snorted disbelievingly as she pointed at the discomfited Naruto. "And I'm sure he believed it, yes?"

Not satisfied with that, Ino had gone on to give her an earful about knocking the others out to go after Sasuke. As each second passed by, Sakura had felt her temper rise further. It had occurred to her then that perhaps she and Ino did not have that much in common after all, if the blonde didn't understand even a little bit of what was going on.

"That's enough, Ino," Kakashi had finally interjected sternly.

But by then, she'd been too furious to care. Ino had always been a big mouth but this time, she had gone too far. What had made Ino assume that she was still in love with Sasuke? Not only that, Sakura had felt shamed when she saw the pitying looks from her supposed friends and the disgusted looks from the passersby who were eavesdropping on their conversation. She'd been unable to understand _how_ this entire thing had ended up being her fault. All she had done was confess her feelings to Naruto to release him from a promise she should never have extracted from him in the first place. All she had tried to do was save Naruto from the burden of this decision to kill Sasuke.

Instead, she'd opened herself to a world of misunderstanding and hurt. Everyone apart from Kakashi and Sai had looked away, unable to meet her eyes when she'd run her eyes over them. No one had bothered to offer her any kind of support, even Naruto who'd only stared down at his feet uneasily. The passersby had whispered behind their palms, nudging at her direction with expressions of disapproval and making her feel even worse.

So she had walked away.

No one had stopped her.

A few days later, on the day of the month when the group usually met, she had not bothered to turn up. Then the next thing she knew, she'd been summoned by Tsunade for a little chat about the rumors that had spread throughout Konoha about how she had slighted Naruto by lying about her feelings. Tsunade had asked for her version of the events, knowing that facts often got distorted as rumors spread.

Sakura had explained everything, starting from the decision they'd made to personally stop Sasuke from wreaking more havoc. Since it was unlikely that he could be made to see reason, it followed that the only option left was to kill him. She'd explained that she'd kept this from Naruto because she felt Naruto had shouldered enough burdens and did not need more. Something like this would have added to his strain. Her love confession was purely to let him know that if he was chasing after Sasuke for the sake of fulfilling the promise he'd made to her all those years ago, then he should consider himself freed from the promise. It was something that she should have told him a long time ago and she had known that she might never have the chance to say it after her confrontation with Sasuke. Who had thought that she would be branded a liar? Then later, she supposed that the way she'd knocked Kiba, Lee and Sai out did not help endear anyone to her case. Despite her apologies, she had known that they remained annoyed by her actions. She just hadn't expected everything to blow up right in her face like this.

When she'd reached the end of her tale, tears of anger and frustration were streaming down her face. Tsunade had seemed just as troubled.

"Sakura?"

She jerked, brought back to the present by Naruto's concerned voice. She sure felt as if she had put herself through a grinder by dragging up the unpleasantness of the past. What exactly she'd hoped to achieve from this, she didn't know. Naruto was obviously just as badly affected because he looked anguished, and it broke her heart to see him like this.

"I shouldn't have listened to Ino," he said sadly.

"It's okay," she muttered.

"You're still angry with Ino?"

She shrugged. "Not anymore. I just don't really trust her anymore. I mean, I know she's loud and she loves to gossip, so in some ways I shouldn't have been so surprised that she told everyone about what had happened. She probably didn't think of the consequences. But I can't see myself being friendly to her in the near future."

Naruto's brow furrowed. "But everything she'd said… Including your feelings…"

Sakura held out a hand, stopping him before he could continue. It made no sense to rehash that particular topic. "At least this way, you have Hinata by your side. She'll treat you better than I ever would. You deserve someone as good as her."

Naruto still looked troubled. "For months after that day, I wanted to come to you to apologize. You didn't deserve to be left out." He grimaced. "I guess I felt too guilty to face you."

She blinked. "Guilty? Why?"

He exhaled. "Because I knew you went after Sasuke just to spare me and you almost got killed for it. I should've looked out for you better."

"Again, Naruto. You always think it's about _just_ you. But it's not!"

"I know_ now_ that it's not!" he cried out agitatedly. "It was stupid, but at that time, all I could think of was if I can just _make_ Sasuke come back, things will be fixed. That's why I went back out to look for him soon after that. I searched for months but it was like he'd disappeared. By the time I came back, you were gone."

"Tsunade thought that it was best to get me out of Konoha with everything that was going on. Some of the villagers were getting a little worked up about how I hurt you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "They were?"

She waved her hand about. "It blew over soon enough after I left."

"But you shouldn't have to leave!" Naruto dragged a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "I asked everyone but no one knew where you went! Baa-Chan refused to tell me."

"I was working in one of the border posts."

"But for more than a whole year, Sakura?"

"Would you have come to find me?" she asked.

He blinked once, and then looked away. "I still wanted to find Sasuke first, to show you that you didn't need to confess like that to me because it wouldn't make a difference. I wasn't looking for him just because of the promise. I only want Team 7 to be back together. I wanted both him and me to find you and apologize for the mess."

She shook her head, smiling wearily. "That wouldn't work." She would have just walked away from both of them the way she had done two and a half year ago.

"I know now. When I saw you three years ago when you just returned from the border, you were so different. You were so shut off." His brows drew together. "I was… No, I think I was too scared to talk you because I don't want to face that it really was all over. If I stayed away, things will be okay. I know it's stupid because it doesn't make any sense now."

Her chest constricted and then she was suffused by a melting sensation. "Naruto," she murmured quietly.

It hadn't been easy, hiding herself away from everyone but it was worst with him. She felt guilty that she had caused him to go through so much while she'd been hiding her emotions away. Because that was what it was, wasn't it? She was terrified of being hurt. Just like Naruto was scared of being hurt by her. But they were here now, talking more openly than they'd done for years. She could continue to shield herself or she could try to patch things up with Naruto. Which would it be?

She took a deep breath and met his glistening blue eyes. "I should've talked to you when I returned from the border. Things were different there. The people are different. Most of them had been there for years. They're loners and everyone kept to themselves, which suited me fine. By the time I returned, I've been isolated from everyone for so long that it was… easier to continue that way."

Naruto's expression softened. "I think I know what you mean. Sometimes when you pretend, it hurts less, right?"

She grimaced. "I'm sorry."

His eyes flashed. "No, Sakura. You didn't do anything wrong! I'm the one who's sorry!"

A laugh broke out of her, lifting the pressure off her chest a little. "Look at us. We're ridiculous, both of us apologizing."

He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, yeah. But it was long overdue."

Then they both fell silent at the same time.

"Sometimes, I think people just need to go through this kind of thing, you know?" she said softly. "It forces us to see things differently."

He all but pouted. "I could have done without years of missing you."

"I missed you too," she admitted wryly.

And it felt like the right thing to say.

"So what are you going to do about Sasuke?"

She looked out of the window again and frowned deeply. Confusion swirled within her at the thought of having to deal with Sasuke.

"I really don't know, Naruto."

000

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What Sakura learnt over the next few weeks was that life with Naruto around was definitely less peaceful. He seemed to be trying to make up for all those years they had been distant with each other. Her daily schedule was turned upside down with the blond turning up whenever he was off-duty to drag her reluctant self to Ichiraku ramen for 'just a quick break, Sakura-chan' or just hang about her office in the hospital to chat, much to her consternation.

Still, she would not change it for anything. Naruto brought the color back to her life. Before this, everything had been monotonous and routine. They were different shades of grey compared to the multiple hues surrounding her now. With their dissension now firmly behind them, she appreciated his friendship more than ever.

The only thing that still bothered her was Sasuke. Even though she'd gone out of her way to avoid any mention of him, Naruto was nowhere near discouraged. Then she had bluntly refused to discuss the situation, but he kept pushing her to just give Sasuke a chance. Naruto wanted her to just accept that one dinner invitation, that was all. He kept going on about it with his usual persistence.

So, to her own disgust, she finally caved.

It was insane, she thought as she slowed her steps when Sasuke's house came into view. She should take a step back and rethink this whole thing before she set foot in the house. The ANBU guards were probably giving her odd looks, not that she could tell for sure from their faces because they were all masked. She was not dressed any differently from her usual work outfit, but her presence here was definitely unusual enough to warrant questions.

Strangely enough, when she approached they stood aside silently to allow her in without a single question. Sai was on duty as well, but he either missed her questioning look, or he was ignoring it.

Taking a deep breath, she went in.

Sasuke saw her and without ceremony gestured her to follow him to the dining area. She stopped once she was closer to stare at the food laid out on the table. It looked like he had made an effort to find out what she liked to eat from someone. Probably Naruto. While she was flattered by his effort, it also made her uncomfortable and suspicious. Why was he going through all this if he did not need something from her?

Oh, wait! He did say that he needed something from her. Whatever it was, she supposed she would find out tonight.

"Looks good," she remarked mildly. "Thanks for inviting me to dinner."

He slid her a brief, unreadable look and then waved at the chair. "Sit."

She sat down silently and waited for him to do the same. He took his place opposite her and gestured for her to begin.

"Itadakimasu," she murmured once she picked up her chopsticks.

Sasuke nodded and then began to eat. The meal passed with the type of silence that Sakura wouldn't describe as comfortable. There was a mild tension in the atmosphere, almost as if something was about to crack and explode. Being near him like this unnerved her. It occurred to her that ever since Sasuke had been housebound, she'd interacted more with him than she'd ever done before. What was more disturbing was that lately she'd interacted with him more than anyone else in Konoha, except Tsunade, Kakashi, Sai and recently Naruto.

It might help if they were talking but Sasuke seemed more interested in finishing his dinner, considering the way he was methodically placing the food in his mouth without pause. She supposed she could _make_ conversation but she did not know what to say.

Not for the first time, it struck her that she had no idea how to have a conversation with Sasuke. It had been the same even in the past when they had been in the same team. She could still remember it so clearly. Despite all her efforts, it had been near impossible to talk to him about anything unrelated to a mission. Most of the time, he had been completely disinterested in anything she had to say.

She frowned at the thought. Sasuke had seemed perfect to her all those years ago but she had failed to consider just how ill-suited they were. How could a relationship survive without conversation? It was such a basic thing but it was something she had not appreciated until she was a little older. She felt like cringing at how naïve she had been then.

Perhaps it was best that she just sat through this in silence. If Sasuke had something to say to her, he would do so. Otherwise, she would just eat and thank him and then leave.

Half an hour after it began, dinner ended without a word being spoken. Maybe Sasuke had changed his mind about saying anything to her. Or maybe he had nothing to say to her in the first place, which would be a little strange considering the trouble he had gone through to get her here. She'd been tense and had geared up a verbal battle and so far, nothing happened, which made her feel a little let down.

Shrugging her thoughts off, she stood up and was about to tidy up the dishes when Sasuke stopped her.

"Don't bother."

"I can help."

He shook his head. "Leave it." A pause followed before he added, "It can be cleaned later. I have a lot of time on my hands. Sit back down."

Hands clenched on the back of her chair, she hesitated for a while. The tension in her increased twofold as she stared into his black eyes in the attempt to glean some information. But as usual, his expression gave nothing away.

"I'll make more tea," he told her before turning away.

Sitting back down, she looked across the table to find him stacking the plates and then leaving them in the sink. A few minutes later, he returned with a fresh pot of tea. Wordlessly, she watched while the steam filled the air as he poured the tea into their cups.

Only then did he sit down and cupped his dish of tea, wearing a thoughtful expression. For a few minutes, they simply sat there in silence while she waited for him to say something. Time ticked by, and she resisted the urge to glance up at the clock adorning the wall opposite. How long would this take? She tried to distract herself by taking a long sip of tea only to find her eyes drawn to the frown appearing between his brows. And still, he said nothing.

Then finally, when the tension was so high that she was considering just standing up and walking out, he raised his eyes to hers and spoke.

"I need to apologize."

000

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A/N: To be continued…(again). Please review if you could, if only to mock me for my inability to keep a story short…

:elle6778:


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: Thanks for all your comments for Part 3. You'd be glad (or not so glad for some) to know that this is the final chapter. You have no idea how relieved I am because I was genuinely worried that it might turn into a proper multichaptered fic that takes a year to finish! Now I can focus on Truth behind the Mask. Without further ado, here's the final installment…

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><p><strong>The Perfect Dream by elle6778 – Part 4<strong>

"I need to apologize."

She tensed immediately, not liking how this conversation was commencing and where it could lead. It was not as if she had any ideas of why he wanted her here in the first place, but she definitely had not expected him to apologize. He had never done so before in the past despite being in the wrong, so why should he start now? What did he want so badly from her that he would sacrifice his precious pride like this?

Unable to keep from sounding bitter, she said, "Don't." Especially when he did not mean it. It was easy to say the correct words. They were just words, after all. How would she ever know if he really meant it?

His eyes flashed in annoyance. "Just listen," he grated out and then glanced around the room absently. "Staying here alone for so long gave me time to think of things. It… cleared up a few things in my mind." A pause followed before he said rather stiffly, "Others think that it is about time I spoke to you as well. To explain."

Others? Must be Naruto. Should she even be surprised that Naruto had a hand in this? She pressed her lips together, not wanting to listen at all but refusing to behave like a coward and run off. It would not kill her to hear him out. She just hoped that by staying, she was not making herself as vulnerable as she had been in the past. Opening up to Naruto was one thing. But Sasuke was a completely different matter. She needed to keep her distance from everything with the potential to harm her again, and one of them was Sasuke.

It took him a while to get the words out, but it wasn't what she had expected to hear.

"That day, at the broken stone bridge, I fully intended to kill you," he laid out abruptly.

_This_ was what he wanted to tell her? She blinked and then ground her teeth together. "I'll-"

"JUST LISTEN!"

She reared back, stunned at the uncharacteristic outburst. In an unusual display of agitation, he ran a hand through his hair, letting the messy strands fall over his drawn brows. Where was the cold, composed Sasuke? She was so stunned that she could not move even if she wanted to, let alone talk.

"I'm not making excuses for anything I've done." There was a challenging light in his eyes when he looked at her, as if he was daring her to contradict him. "I just want to explain what happened back then."

Her voice was strained when she said, "Explain then."

He stared at his tea again and then he began, "I'd thought killing Itachi would bring justice to the clan and I'd be free of this… this _pressure_. Instead, after I'd killed him, I learned that he'd been protecting me all along. All the time, I've based everything I did on a lie. It was as if…" He paused, his pupils dilating briefly with anger before he continued, "It was as if something just snapped inside. Itachi suffered, I suffered and I want everyone to suffer along with us. And I don't want to stop until everyone breaks along with us."

Sakura sucked in a sharp breath.

"When you came that day, offering to leave with me, I could tell that you were pretending." His lips twisted wryly. "I knew you were lying. That's why I challenged you to kill Karin."

Her breath left her in a hiss as her fury ramped up. The bastard had been playing with her all that time?

"I knew you couldn't do it. How could you? It was just not something you would do." His fingers clenched into fists as he pressed down on the surface of the table, his eyes seemed to glitter as he stared down at the white digits. "But all I could think of was that you wanted to deceive me, and in my frame of mind at that time, that meant that you had to die. I just wanted to test you before I killed you."

Finding her voice, Sakura ground out, "Too bad Naruto saved me, huh?"

Sasuke's gaze jerked up, his expression intense. "I would have regretted it."

Her fury stalled as she blinked at him, unsure what to say. What did he mean by that? If he'd intended to kill her all along, then why would he regret it at all?

Irritation jolted through her, sharp and unpleasant, as she realized what he must be up to. He was playing with her mind again, the sick bastard. Tell her something bad and then tell her something good to confuse the hell out of her. Well, she wasn't about to carry on with this stupid game of his.

She pushed back her chair and stood up.

It wasn't until she'd taken a step away from the table that his voice rang out, loud and sharp. "Where are you going?"

Her steps did not slow as she answered, "Home."

The tension spiked in the air and then he snapped angrily, "I'm not done!"

In a blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them. His hand clamped around her shoulder and she was forcibly spun around to face him. His speed was astonishing but all she could focus on was the expression on his face. It was a mix of fury and… panic? Frustration? The look was such an usual one for Sasuke that for a while, she could only stare at him in bewilderment.

For a long while, they simply stood there, eyes not leaving each other.

And then she broke the silence. "Let me go, Sasuke. I don't want to have to use force."

He tensed. Then he released her, taking a step back. "Just hear me out," he said quietly. "You can leave afterwards."

She nodded once, jerkily, resisting the impulse to rub her arm where he'd gripped her earlier. He was very fast and strong even without the use of his chakra. It shouldn't surprise her considering how badly hurt his ex-fiancé had been after a fight with him.

He gestured to the chair. "Sit down."

Her eyes not leaving him, she sat down.

He glanced away from her again, looking uneasy. "Thinking back now, that entire time after I found out the truth was like a haze. Something… died inside me, maybe. All I wanted to do was destroy. Vengeance gradually consumed my every thought. There was no space for anything else."

Sakura grimaced.

His gaze remained fixed to some unknown point in the distant when he continued, "Then that day, after you left with Naruto and Karin, I went away with Madara. He gave me tasks and left me on my own for most parts." His eyes shifted downwards, his hair falling over his furrowed brows. "It took months and I don't know how, but that haze started to slowly fall apart. I think that was when I started feeling… lost. I knew I had to kill the rest of the council members to avenge Itachi but then what?"

She studied him, this time seeing nothing but a man with a tortured soul. Or was this still part of the deceit? She did not think so. Sasuke had never been the emotional type and this was the most emotion she'd ever seen him display. As edgy as it made her feel, she also doubted that someone could really fake this much emotion. It made her long for the old, stoic Sasuke back because right now, she had no idea how to react to all this.

"Everything seemed empty. Eventually, I realized that I missed... them." His eyes came up to meet hers, the onyx orbs gleaming with unmistakable regret. "Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo. Then I remembered that I wanted to kill Karin. That I wanted you and Naruto dead as well."

"You don't have to remind me," she muttered, unsettled by his stark words.

"When I realized what I'd almost done, I was… alarmed." His expression twisted briefly before it smoothed out. "I saw too clearly how far I had gone." He shook his head. "When I left Konoha I didn't set out to push myself in that direction."

She felt her hands tremble and promptly clenched her fists to still them. "You didn't set out to make an enemy of all the villages and everyone, you mean."

He shook his head. "Or to kill my teammates." His eyes held hers, his dark orbs willing her to believe him. "Both sets of teammates."

His admission shocked her. She'd never imagined that he would ever refer to her and Naruto as his teammates ever again. It was staggering and she did not know how to react to this. She had been suspicious of him earlier but now, she could not deny that his words had a ring of truth around them. He seemed genuinely contrite.

"So when Naruto went to find you, you decided to return with him?" she asked quietly.

"After we worked together to kill Madara first." He frowned slightly. "Killing Madara felt… right. The same could be said for returning here. I wanted to be back here again."

"I see."

As far as responses went, hers was worse than lame, but she did not know what else to say. Sasuke, who barely spoke on a good day, was going out of his way to explain his actions the best he could to her, the girl he'd always considered an annoyance. And as confused as she was, this conversation made her feel more than she'd felt over the past few years with the exception of her reconciliation with Naruto. It also made her feel as if something had finally slid into place.

She understood then that although Sasuke's words were only words, they were words she'd needed to hear.

And that scared her. It made her feel strung up so tight that she feared she might snap at any moment. Worse, her feelings had been locked up so carefully for so long that she could not imagine what she might say or do if she snapped. She wanted to ask him why he brought all this up but she feared his answer. Things he had said so far had shaken her and she probably did not need to hear more.

They sat for a while, each lost in their own thoughts until Sasuke picked up his now-cold tea. "I'll heat more water if you want more tea."

"It's okay," she quickly protested. "I… I need to go home."

It might be her imagination, but Sasuke seemed almost disappointed. And then he shrugged carelessly. "Very well."

Needing some privacy to sort through her own thoughts, Sakura stood up. "Thanks for dinner."

He inclined his head curtly. "You know the way out."

The apathetic Sasuke was back, she thought with flare of relief that he was once again behaving in a familiar manner. Without looking back, she exited his house, taking care not to give in to her impulse to run. After so many years, the need to present a calm façade was second nature to her.

Once outside, she saw Sai, who inclined his head at a private spot some distance away. Smiling genuinely at the opportunity to be distracted from her thoughts on Sasuke, she followed him.

"Sai?" she greeted when she caught up with him.

He pulled down his mask and then stared at her. "Did the dinner go well?"

She froze, uncertain how to answer. _This_ was not what she'd expected Sai to bring up.

"Naruto told me that you finally agreed to have dinner with Sasuke," Sai added.

Her temples throbbed as her irritation spiked. Naruto had no right to do that. He _knew_ that she was seeing Sai, albeit only casually. To interfere like this meant that he was trying to sabotage things between her and Sai. To what purpose, though? It could not possibly be because he was trying to clear a path for Sasuke. She'd told Naruto more than once that she no longer like Sasuke in that way.

"Sakura?"

Keeping her voice calm, she responded, "Yeah, I heard you. Dinner was fine."

Sai nodded. "Was the conversation enlightening?"

She tensed. What did Sai know about it? "What do you mean?" she asked.

Tilting his head thoughtfully, he explained, "Sasuke had things to say to you, clearly. I can only surmise that it finally sunk in that he had been stupid. He apologized?"

Sakura nodded dumbly, a little stunned by Sai's perception.

"So he finally stopped being a coward and admitted his mistakes where it concerns you and Naruto."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait. What do you know about this?"

"I merely pointed out the truth to him."

"What?"

Groaning out loud, she dragged a hand down her face. Her life was filled with meddling friends. And then she tensed again when she realized what had just gone through her mind. '_Friends'_ was not a word she had thought of often in the past few years. But now, it looked like she might be using it more often.

"The books always say that it is best to come clean in such situations and admit one's mistakes. So that's what I told him."

Sakura just stared at Sai, not knowing what to say.

"The book also highlighted that while confessing one's mistakes was the first step to making reparation towards a broken friendship, it is also a very difficult step for most to take. Which was what I told him." Sai paused and then added consideringly, "He did not appreciate my advice much at all at that time."

She blinked as Sai's words sank in. Yes, it had not been easy for Sasuke to tell her everything. It had taken guts to confess, especially for someone as reticent and prideful as him. That was something she had not thought of in her panic earlier.

Sai's hand landed on her shoulder. "Sakura." His expression hardened briefly. "You've been treated unfairly before and it made you unhappy. I hope that Sasuke's confession eased that unhappiness a little."

"Sai…" she murmured as a gentle warmth washed over her at his words. "Thank you."

He smiled widely. "You're welcomed."

000

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Even though Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto had aired their thoughts to each other, it did not mean that everything suddenly fell into place like the end of a fairy tale. In fact, the road to recovery was a slow and awkward one for all three of them.

It took a week after her conversation with Sasuke for Naruto to work up the nerve to ask her about it, which was strange because in the past, Naruto would have just pestered her for information until she whacked him on the head hard enough for him to see stars. He treated her differently now, as in he respected her personal space a little bit more. So it was not a bad thing.

Another one of the advantages of the change in Naruto's attitude towards her was that he'd only brought up the topic of meeting up with the others once. He'd backed off after seeing her expression darken instantly. She might be talking to Naruto again but that did not mean that she wanted to be close to any of the rest. Too many things had happened and too many years had passed. She had moved on from them to other things. Besides, the wall she had built around herself to ensure that she was never vulnerable again did not crumble when she and Naruto resumed their friendship.

Weeks after her conversation with Sasuke, she still thought about it, trying to understand his point. It was hard to put herself in his shoes, to understand the agony of having one's family massacred by one's own brother and then to realize that for years, the revenge had been directed at the wrong person. Sasuke must have been devastated to find out the truth after he had killed his brother. She was a medic but she did not claim to be knowledgeable in psychology. Still, it did not take an expert to realize that the sort of psychological trauma he'd experienced would have broken many apart. He could have carried on with that broken mindset but he had turned back before it was too late. Surely that meant something?

So what should her next move be? Should she even do anything in response to their conversation or should she just sit back and carry on like normal? Perhaps she should do something to let him know that she sort of understood and although she could not forgive and forget instantly, she would accept that shit happened and they all had to move beyond it.

Finally, one month after he'd apologized, she visited Sasuke.

If he was surprised by her visit, he did not show it. From what she could tell, he was his usual quiet, brooding self. He only glanced up briefly from his book when she entered his home, and then promptly resumed reading without a single greeting. She did not know what she'd expected, really. Maybe she'd expected him to just be a little friendlier after their conversation? It was probably too much to ask. She would be suspicious of an overly talkative Sasuke anyway.

Still, it would help her nerves if he would at least _look_ at her.

"Sasuke."

He tensed slightly, his action telling her that he was not as unaffected as he'd made it out to be. When she stepped close, he glanced up at her, still saying nothing.

It was her turn to talk this time, and as much as she disliked to do this, she knew that she had to. She needed to do this, for closure, if nothing else. Then she can stop thinking about Sasuke and their conversation and move on with her life.

"Can we talk?"

His dark orbs assessed her thoughtfully. And then, "Hn."

Taking that as a yes, she took a deep breath. "That day, at the stone bridge, I truly set out to stop you. To kill you. But in the end, I couldn't do it."

"I know."

Her brows rose. "You do?"

He nodded shortly. "You're not ruthless enough." He blinked once. "At least, not back then."

She shook her head. "I don't think I have it in me to kill you. Ever." Looking away to stare out of the window nearby, she muttered, "I've had feelings for you for too long."

"Had…" he echoed. He spoke so quietly that she was barely able to make out his words. "It is too late then."

She tensed, recalling the time he'd asked her out for dinner and then much later, in a roundabout way asked if she would volunteer like the rest to be the woman to bear his children. He had not been serious those times, surely? She groaned inwardly. All this suspicions and no real answers were driving her mad. She hated the feeling of being in the dark.

"What are you trying to say, Sasuke?" she asked bluntly.

He scowled darkly at her. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "There are times that you sound like you are… interested. In _me_."

His gaze did not waver as he said calmly, "Then I must be."

She stared at him, only now noticing the almost imperceptible strain around his eyes and the slight furrow between his brows. He was not as calm as he seemed, which suggested to her that this was important to him. This admission of his was not a careless one.

Baffled, she asked, "Why?"

He frowned, as if impatient with her. "Why what?"

"You've never shown any interest in me back then. Why now?" she asked warily.

"I was… distracted. By other things."

Meaning revenge, she added in her mind. "But after that you accepted Kaoru."

"Did I have a choice?"

She guessed not. Konoha had all but chosen a wife for him. Considering that he had always wanted to revive his clan, she supposed he could not reject the only option that would lead him to his objective. He was always practical if nothing else.

He did not meet her eyes when he added, "Besides, I've asked you out before and you refused me."

"So this… interest… you have in me just appeared when you came back?" she asked, needing to know. Needing to _understand _what was at play here. "Because this is all very sudden. How am I supposed to know what to believe?"

"I spent many years trying to break bonds, but the interest in you was always there," he admitted quietly, still not meeting her eyes. "When I realized that I'd almost killed you, it… scared me. And much later, I understood what it meant."

It took a few seconds for his admission to sink in. And when it did, she felt blood rush from her head. She'd expected him to deny it or at the very least, simply not answer her. But this? She wanted an answer and he had given her one. Did she believe it? And what if she did? Those days when she yearned for his attention were long gone. So where did this leave them?

"I…" she started, and then cleared her throat before continuing, "I don't know what to say," she finally croaked.

He made a sound, a cross between a grunt and a bitter bark of laughter. "On the journey back here, Naruto was so sure that all I needed to do was to, in his words, open up. I had my doubts but he was so certain that you still love me."

The silence which followed was awkward. She had been suspicious of his motives for so long she had no idea how to react to this latest surprise. It was difficult to imagine herself reciprocating his interest. Could she spend an entire day with him without remembering their unpleasant past? Could she hold his hand and not think that the very same hand had once tried to kill her? Could he listen to her talk about her work with poisonous weapons without thinking of the kunai she'd almost plunged into him? Could they walk past that bench near the gates without remembering how she'd been left there after her admission of love?

There were so many things in the past clouding up their future that she was not sure that either of them would be able to move past the obstacles.

For once, Sasuke was the one break the tense silence. "Why are you here?"

As in, surely she was not here so that Sasuke could confess his feelings for her, she thought. Of course not. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling more confused than she'd ever felt. How was she to handle this?

Then recalling his question and grasping it like a lifesaving distraction, she answered, "I thought it might be nice for you, me and Naruto to get together for a simple meal. Since you're still under house arrest, I was wondering if you want to do it here. I will bring the food. If you want to get together in the first place, that is."

His expression was unfathomable as he stared at her. And then, just as it was beginning to get on her already-frayed nerves, he nodded curtly.

"Come tomorrow at six."

000

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Sakura flopped down on her couch and closed her eyes.

_Thank goodness for Naruto._

Sakura did not know how many times she had that thought over the course of the meal which had ended just a couple of hours ago. Naruto had been ecstatic when she told him about it and had turned up at the hospital to meet her before they went together to Sasuke's place.

It had started a little awkwardly until Naruto, being his usual self, broke through the tension with his exuberance and non-stop chattering. It meant that she and Sasuke had spent most of the meal in silence, listening to their blond friend. It was just as well, because she had found herself unable to meet his eyes without thinking about the conversation they had yesterday. She still had no idea what she should do about what Sasuke had told her.

Maybe she did not need to do anything at all. The session of soul-searching she'd done yesterday when she got home told her that she was probably not as indifferent to Sasuke as she'd thought. Still, she had to admit that idea of being more than just friends with him scared her, especially since she did not know if she still loved him. A few years ago, when Sasuke had been a complete bastard, she would have said no. Now, with Sasuke being more open and less cold, she could almost feel her old feelings resurfacing. It was possible that if she let herself, one of the dreams she'd had when she was young could come true. Or it could be destroyed for good, if things did not work out. She had never been given the opportunity to find out before but now the opportunity was there for her to take should she wished to.

However, the years of secluding her emotions made it difficult for her to jump into the situation with both feet. She knew that it was her turn to make a move now, because Sasuke had already made the initial overture. Just because she knew that did not mean that she knew what the next step should be, though.

She sank in deeper into her couch, frowning in thought. Earlier tonight, each time her eyes had met Sasuke's, she had felt the pressure of his gaze pressing her for an answer even though no words of personal nature had been uttered.

What should her answer be? Ignore his declaration of interest or risk her heart by giving it a chance? The safe option would be the former. It was the approach she had taken for everything over the past few years. She had held herself away from everyone and everything and it had kept her safe.

But it was also very lonely.

Maybe it was time to make a change. She was stronger this time round. If anything went wrong, she would simply deal with it. It would not be the end of the world if things did not work out. She still had her work, Sai and now Naruto with her.

She stood up resolutely.

Knowing that she had to do this before she lost her nerve, she left her house and headed straight for Sasuke's place. When she reached, she could see Sai amongst the ANBU guards. He must be working the night shift because she had not seen him there earlier. It occurred to her that what she was about to do would mean the end of the fledgling relationship between them. She would have to talk to him after she had spoken to Sasuke. Whatever the outcome might be, it would not be fair to lead Sai on or make him wait.

"Sakura," he greeted.

"Can we talk later?" she asked. "After your shift?"

He nodded.

Turning away, she pressed her palm against the security panel and then walked in. Sasuke must have sensed her, because the second she entered his living room, he came out from his bedroom. At the sight of his sleep-ruffled figure, she quickly glanced at her watch to find that it was already past midnight. Oops.

"Sakura?" He looked puzzled. "Is something wrong?"

"Yesterday. Do you still mean what you said?" she asked abruptly, needing to get this out in the open as quickly as she could.

All signs of sleep vanished off his face. "Yes."

"Then… No, it's not too late."

"You will accept me then," he said in a wary tone.

She shook her head, eliciting a sigh of impatience from him.

"Then what is it, Sakura?" he bit out.

"It's been a long time since I was so in love with you that it blinded me to everything else." Her voice softened as she added, "It's not like that anymore. I don't love you like that anymore."

His features grew strained. "Let me get back to sleep. If that's all-"

"No wait," she interjected. "All I'm trying to say is that I would like to start over."

Caution was painted all over his face.

She took a deep breath for courage. "I was thinking that maybe we can see each other for a while? As friends. We were never really friends-"

"You always said that we were friends," he interjected bluntly.

She smiled regretfully. "I was twelve and I thought myself in love with you and any link with you is good. I don't think I knew you that well then. At least, not the real you. And I'm pretty sure you don't know the person I am now."

He frowned thoughtfully and it made her wonder what he was thinking.

"I'm not promising anything, Sasuke. But if you're interested in anything more than friendship, I think we should start by being friends first and then see where it leads. I think we both need to get to know each other before committing to something as serious as a relationship."

"And what if it leads to something more?" he asked.

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I will not be able to take you out."

Oh. A pause followed before she offered, "I can come here."

He glanced away from her. "It is unlikely that I would be pardoned. You're certain that you willing to sacrifice so much?" he asked with a hint of bitterness. "You will not be expecting dates to fancy places?"

"Not with you, no," she replied honestly, feeling a little sorry for his plight.

"Only with people like Sai, then," he muttered under his breath.

Understanding his concern, she assured him, "I'll talk to Sai after this. Explain the situation to him."

"And what situation might that be?" he asked shortly.

Getting just a little irritated by his tone, she shot back, "Why don't you tell me? Then I'll decide if I agree with your assessment."

He studied her for a long moment before he spoke in a low voice. "You will tell Sai to back off. You will tell him that you will no longer be going out on dates or indulge in any kind of physical intimacies with him."

Her jaw dropped. "W-What do you mean by intimacies?"

Sasuke jerked his gaze away from her and his expression set into stubborn lines. There were faint slashes of pink against his cheeks which betrayed his discomfiture. The sight was such an unexpected one that she could only gape at him for a considerable moment. It was only after a long while that it struck her.

Watching him intently for his reaction, she asked, "Naruto told you about Sai and me kissing outside my place, didn't he?"

An irritable grunt was his only reaction.

She almost smiled. His jealousy was almost sweet, really. Because nothing could convince her that his sulking was the result of anything else. Maybe with Sasuke being a little more open than he had been before, things between them had a chance of working. But first things first. Sasuke had to understand that she would no longer treat his words like they were sacred.

So she said, "I won't be telling Sai the things you've just demanded."

His eyes narrowed.

"Try to understand, Sasuke. I might be giving _us_ a chance, but that doesn't mean that I will forget my relationship with others. There is no need to talk like that to Sai. Besides, he had not indicated that he was serious about our relationship." She doubted that he was.

"Hn."

"So, what do you think? Do you think we can try it and see how it goes?"

The look he gave her was a mix of petulance and resignation. "Fine. I accept."

A weight seemed to lift off her chest. She had not realized just how much she wanted him to agree with this. It was obviously more important to her than she'd thought. It made her wonder if she was truly as casual this entire friendship thing as she'd made it out to be. But whatever it was, she knew deep inside that the only way they could get past their differences was to start over right from the beginning.

She only hoped that she would not get irreparably hurt by it.

000

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For the next few months, Sakura visited Sasuke regularly. In fact, given how cold and distant she had been to others before all this, many people were beginning to speculate. Well, let them. She no longer cared about the gossips, and she definitely did not allow them to affect her the way they had all those years ago.

This entire process of getting to know each other was not easy for either her or Sasuke. He was often sullen and broody, while she frequently lapsed into her defensive mode of stonewalling him when it looked like she was getting vulnerable. When they were not glaring at each other in a frigid silence, they debated heatedly over one topic or another, but mutually keeping away from volatile issues like the Uchiha clan and Sai. Sakura learnt that Sasuke would occasionally refer to things relating to his family in a casual way but he never wanted to discuss it at length. And she knew that Sasuke finally realized that she would not tolerate any snide remarks about Sai, who had eventually confirmed that he'd asked her out because he wanted to experience 'dating' with someone he liked and trusted.

The transition from friendship to something more eventually happened one long year after his confession.

They were in the kitchen doing dishes side by side. And then like some cliché movie, they both reached down for the same sudsy bowl and their fingers tangled. A second later, their eyes met and of course it followed that their lips would be next. However, unlike her childhood dream of their perfect first kiss, the meeting of their lips was a clumsy one, ending with the bowl slipping off their entwined fingers to land on the floor with a jarring crash and breaking into a thousand pieces. Whereupon they had both jumped back and looked at everything but at each other.

The week following that event was an awkward one. She did not stop her daily visits to his house because by then, much as it disturbed her to admit it, she was addicted to his company. She tried to act as casual as possible but that was not to be, because it was impossible to ignore those heated looks Sasuke kept sending her way when he thought she was not looking.

Their second kiss was less clumsy and no dishes were broken in the process.

It was, however, interrupted by Naruto.

Their blond friend stared in disbelief, something which baffled Sakura because really, did Naruto not wonder why she was visiting Sasuke so often over the past year? Sasuke did not find the interruption that amusing and promptly punched the blond, much to Sakura's dismay. Thankfully, Naruto was as resilient as ever and managed to bounce back up without her help. Grinning despite his bruised jaw, Naruto congratulated them. All he wanted was for all his friends to be happy.

Happy was definitely an accurate description of her feelings.

'In love' would be another way to describe it.

This time, she knew that her feeling for Sasuke was completely different from the puppy love she had felt for him in her childhood. What she felt for him now was stronger, born from understanding and accepting both his strengths and flaws. This was the real deal and at times, when she thought about it, it frightened the hell out of her.

Sasuke obviously felt the same way because on occasion, he would freak out and withdraw. After so many years of distancing himself from others and breaking bonds, forming such a strong connection with another must worry him. It was not hard to understand that he feared putting himself at risk because face it, it was something that she was familiar with as well.

She supposed it did not help that Sasuke felt that she was just 'settling' for him. According to him, she would never get that perfect dream of a relationship she'd always hankered for. And she always responded by telling him that nothing was perfect and it was the imperfections that made things interesting. Sasuke usually gave her an odd look when she answered that way, as if he did not know whether to be pleased that she wanted to be with him despite everything or be offended that he was deemed an imperfection. It did not matter either way to her, so she did not bother to clarify further.

Still, even with her acceptance of Sasuke's terms of arrest, sometimes she wished that she could share some of the things she experienced outside his house with him. She wished that they could visit the hotspring resort she'd accidentally found when returning from a medical conference in Earth Country. She wished that she could share the sunset from the top of the Hokage Mountain with him. And a few other things. But she knew that it was not meant to be. Sasuke had been incarcerated for only a little more than two years, hardly enough of a punishment for the murder of two council members. If the terms of his arrest were to be loosened, it would not be for another ten years or so at the very least.

So they had to make do in the meantime. But which couple did not have to do that? Their relationship might be a little different from the norm but it seemed to her that they were managing fine despite the occasional hiccups.

Then, a little less than two years after Naruto had caught them kissing, Sakura found a present in her medic pouch. She was in the hospital at that time, training a batch of medics to utilize a new emergency repair technique. When she reached in for the case holding her scalpels, her fingers made contact with a velvety surface. A moment later, she found herself staring at a jeweler's box amidst the excited shrieks from the medical trainees.

She did not open the box. Instead, she carried on with the training session until it was completed. Only then did she head for Sasuke's place.

Her arrival was expected, as she was greeted by the scent of food and candles. She stood stock still as she took in the sight of Sasuke walking towards her, an expression of grim determination painted over his features. He held something in his hand, but she could not make out what it was.

"Sakura."

Silently, she extended a hand to display the jeweler's box sitting on her palm.

His eyes slid to it once and then returned to her face. "Marry me."

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "You're supposed to ask. Not demand. Or leave it in my pouch for me to find in the middle of a lecture."

"Hn."

There was a brief flash of uncertainty in his expression before he masked it. Then he placed what he held into her free hand wordlessly. She looked down to find that it was… a folded fan? She flipped it open and was greeted by the red and white symbol of the Uchiha clan.

"You hold the clan's future in your hands," Sasuke said quietly.

Her throat constricted at the hint of sorrow mingled with the hope in Sasuke's voice. "Sasuke…"

His hands covered both of hers, taking care not to make her drop the fan or the velvet box. "Marry me, Sakura. Please."

As corny as it was, her eyes misted. "Yes, I will."

He stared at her for a long while, and then wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you," he murmured against her hair.

And this time, he did not knock her out and leave her on the bench. Instead, he held on tight to her as if he would never let go again, making her feel as if she was the happiest person in the world right then. She knew that the life they shared would have its ups and downs but they would see it through together.

No, this was not a perfect dream.

It was better.

It was real.

000

000

THE END

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A/N: This marks the end of my first Sasu/Saku fanfic. It was surprisingly nice to write, so I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you've enjoyed reading it at least as much. As always, please review if you could. Thanks!

:elle6778:


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